A Tiny Problem
by TheOneTrueDestiny
Summary: A certain Factory picks up a certain Toa team. Chaos ensues pretty quickly. Very AU, as the Bioncle and Heroes are in human forms. Oh, boy. This will be great. Rated T for swearing and mild carnage.
1. Chapter 1

A Tiny Problem

Author's Note:

**Stryka: Hiya! I'm Toa Stryka, a Bionicle OC.**

**Cryo: And I'm Joseph Cryo, a Hero Factory OC.**

**Stryka: And welcome to the Author's Note!**

**Cryo: So, this is a story based around Bionicle and Hero Factory.**

**Stryka: Obviously.**

**Cryo: TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory, which both belong to Lego.**

**Stryka: And, to clarify, both universes are going to be human.**

**Cryo: Why?**

**Stryka: I don't know. You decide.**

**Cryo: Okay... **

**Stryka: Anyway, without further ado, let's begin.**

Chapter One:

The Mirror

At the Hero Factory, residence of William Furno:

Furno awoke to the sound of a phone ringing. He shivered, and sat up in bed, reaching for his bedside table.

"Hello?" He asked, still shrugging off the veil of sleep.

"Will? It's Preston." Furno blinked. His mentor's name brushed away the last traces of sleep.

"Yes, sir?" He asked.

"Get to the Factory, pronto. We've found something unusual." Stormer's voice had a trace of urgency. Furno nodded, and closed his phone. This didn't bode well.

Furno had just finished pulling on his shirt when he remembered something. He had been having a nightmare. Something about Von Nebula and a large, dark hand. And a mirror. Furno felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of the mirror. Somehow, the mirror in his dreams felt significant. Furno shook his head. It was just a dream. Just a dream.

He had managed to forget about it by the time he was on his motorbike, speeding to the Factory.

On Aqua Magna, unknown island:

Vakama had burst awake underwater. Literally. He panicked, floundering around and trying to get to surface. How did he get underwater, anyway? His memory was blank.

Vakama tried to get his frenzied mind in gear. He had just broken to surface, and he had enough time to fill his lungs with air before he slipped back under. _Oh... crap! I can't swim! _Vakama thought. As he went back underwater, Vakama opened his eyes. Surprisingly, it stung, but he could see.

Vakama tried to turn his efforts towards land, but it proved impossible. As he came back up for air again, a terrifying thought crossed his mind.

_A drowning man comes up for air three times, right?_

Suddenly, coming up for air seemed like a bad idea. This was his second time up, right? Vakama windmilled his arms, trying to move, but he couldn't tell where he needed to go. He came up for air once more, and then sank like a stone.

As he sank, Vakama tried to piece together how he had gotten there. He had been in his forge, and something had hit the back of his head. Then he had a dream, and there he was... here.

As his vision went dark, Vakama felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest. Then something pushed him up, and then... he lost consciousness.

At the Hero Factory:

Furno stepped off of his bike, locked it up, and walked out of the Hero Factory's build-in garage. "Okay! William Furno, reporting for duty!" He proclaimed. "Now, where's Alpha Unit?"

"They're not here yet, sir." One of the mission briefers said. She looked at her screen. "Stormer told me to brief you while you wait. This assignment is going to be on a new planet."

"A new planet?" Furno asked.

"A moon, to be specific. One of two circling a desert planet. This moon's surface is 90% water, with very little landmass." The briefer said. "The air on this moon is breathable. That's all the detail on the terrain so far."

"Can't say much for the Recon Team's work on this. What's the mission?" Furno asked.

"Actually, Recon Team IS the mission. They went missing while exploring the moon. The plan was to search both moons and the desert planet. Your mission is to find the members of Recon Team who went missing, and finish their exploration sweep." The briefer explained.

"Did they leave anything?" Furno asked, wondering if there was more to this story.

"Actually, yes. They said that they had found something that could change the entire Factory in their last transmission. It was followed by an SOS signal."

Furno frowned. Something about this didn't sit right. "What did they say that they had found?" He wondered.

"A source of raw power. That's all they said." The briefer said.

Furno nodded. "Alright. When do we leave?"

"As soon as your teammates arrive. You'll be working with Julius Nex, Evo, Mark Surge, Bulk, and Natalie Breez."

"Wait... what about Stormer?" Furno asked.

"He's... unavailable at the moment." The briefer said, her eyes flicking to her screen and back. "As is Stringer. Sorry, Furno, but you're on your own here."

Furno nodded. He sat down to wait for his teammates to show up. _This mission... something still feels bad about it. Something... but what?_

Location: Aqua Magna

Six still forms lay unconscious inside a destroyed Hero Factory transport ship. They were surrounded by twisted wires and debris, which had been lovingly wound into beautiful patterns. The figure that stood over them smiled. They looked like tiny angels, these children.

He walked outside, into the sunlight. He had dragged the ship out to the beach after doing away with it's owners. Said owners currently lay facedown on the sand, with daggers in their backs. The figure poked one of the bodies with his toe. It didn't move an inch.

He had once been a great warrior, he had. He forgot his name, though. But he was no longer great. His armour was covered in cracks and rust. His red eyes were dim. His black hair was now grey with age. He carried the remnants of a staff, the top half of which was busted clean off.

Examining one of his kills, the old man found an insignia on it's chest. H. The insignia had inspired in him a great hatred. He didn't remember why. But it had driven him to kill all five of these people. Why?

Suddenly, the old man staggered. Something had just clicked inside of him. It didn't make much sense, but now he remembered something.

_"Oh, please, get me out of this thing!"_

The figure fell to his knees, and slammed his hands over his ears.

_"Whoever you are, I swear I will pay you back!"_

_ "Pay? Pay me? Heh heh... no, mortal. You do not pay me. You offer tribute. Offer tribute to me."_

_ "I offer it! I offer it! Just get me out of this thing!"_

The stranger stopped reeling in agony as another vehicle flew overhead. He turned, and watched it land. He saw several familiar figures walk from the wreckage, and spot him. Here among the corpses, he didn't even need to admit his own guilt.

"Von Ness?" One of them gasped.

"Von Nebula!" The old man corrected. Then he felt a laugh wrack his old system.

"How did you get here?" One of them demanded.

"That man... that man in the shadows. That's how." Von Nebula answered. Then he flopped on the ground, pretending to be out of energy. To be fair, it wasn't that hard. Now, they would take him back to the factory, to be detained. What fools.

"Get up, Nebula. You're under arrest!" One of them declared.

_Bah, arrogant worms. _Von Nebula slowly stood, and then pretended to crumple again. He was no longer great, but that didn't mean he wasn't a warrior.

"I left... I left the power in the... the... shi-shi-ship." He stuttered the last part. The group probably thought that he was insane. To be fair, the trauma of being in the dark for so long had removed some of his memory. But made him insane? No. Definitely not.

The group, all emblazoned with that stupid "H," ran into the destroyed vehicle. They all saw the six unconscious ones that Von Nebula had saved. Five seconds later, they returned, picked him up by the collar, and dragged him back into their ship.

"We're taking you back to the Factory, Von Ness. Maybe we can fix you." The supposed leader boy, William Furno, told him. Von Nebula smiled, trying to look more insane than amused. Neither of them agreed with that statement.

_Besides, you aren't going to fix me. No, no, no. Me and my little friends here are going to fix YOU. _Von Nebula chuckled. Thankfully, it was lost to the ears of the Heroes as they left Aqua Magna behind.

**Stryka: Yay, Aqua Magna! My homeworld!**

**Cryo: Er... weren't you inside the Mata Nui robot?**

**Stryka: I was kicked out at birth.**

**Cryo: You were a Toa at birth?**

**Stryka: Kinda... (Is a Mary Sue.)**

**Cryo: Wow. **

**Stryka: Anyways, that's all for this chapter, folks! Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this fic.**

**Cryo: Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

A Tiny Problem

Author's note:

**Stryka: Welcome back! So, Cryo, are we ready to rock?**

**Cryo: Oh, boy. So, Von Nebula is returning to the Hero Factory with some "Little friends." Why do I fear for my hometown now?**

**Stryka: Eh, it'll pass. Unless someone builds a really terrifying Hero which turns into a Sephiroth clone.**

**Cryo: I gue- Who's Sephiroth?**

**Stryka: Long story. TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. But Cryo and I are his OCs. **

Location: Hero Factory, research and development lab

"Well done!" Stormer clapped, congratulating his team. "Your mission on Moon A has been a smashing success. You've located the attackers of the Recon Team unit, brought back Von Nebula, and you've located those power sources!"

Mark Surge blinked. "Wait, which power sources? We brought back six teenagers, not power batteries."

"We analyzed their blood and DNA," Stormer explained, "And somehow, they're emitting power. We're not sure of their origin, but they may be a species that can do that sort of thing." He looked over his team. "We're trying to replicate this DNA. Once we've managed to locate the key gene for these power, we might just have the 4.0 upgrades."

Furno's eyes lit up. "Wait, new upgrades? That's what might be in store here?" He sounded excited.

"New powers, possibly adaptational. Merrik also suggested that these types of upgrades might become permanent staples in the Factory." Stormer said. The entire group blinked. If the creator of Hero Factory was suggesting that this DNA would be staple in upgrades from now on, then the six teenagers of this race must have possessed incredible characteristics.

The only one who seemed a little concerned was, ironically, Bulk. "Er... Stormer?" He asked. "What exactly do these powers do?"

"We haven't found out yet." Stormer said calmly. "We think that it increase your physical speed, strength, and durability tenfold, at the very least."

Bulk ran a hand through his silver hair. "Okay..." He muttered.

"Ah, come on, Bulk!" Breez patted him on the back. "This might be fun!"

Nex was the first person to ask, "Can we see these things?"

"Well, the upgrades haven't been made yet. We're still trying to find a way to locate and isolate those genes-"

"What about the kids? Can I meet them?" Nex asked.

Stormer blinked. "I... guess?" He said. Apparently, this wasn't something he had expected Nex to ask.

The group stood up, and walked inside the lab. Nex lead the way, and Bulk brought up the rear. The silver-haired hero seemed a little nervous. _I'm not really the thoughtful type, _Bulk reflected, _but I'm not entirely sure that this is a good idea. Eh, must be some dormant paranoia acting up. _He shook his head, trying to clear it of suspicion. He wasn't sure why, but something in his head kept screaming that this was not going to end well.

Slowly, Matau's world became brighter. His first thought was to stand up, but he felt comfortable here. He didn't open his eyes. _What happened back there? _The Le-Matoran wondered. _I remember Toa Lhikan showing up, and I was with a couple other Matoran... and then blackout. And then I was in the water. How did I get in the water?_ His thoughts went a mile a minute. To further cement his confusion, Matau realized that he was lying in some sort of bed. _What? Am I back home?_ He opened his eyes.

Matau didn't see his home, a nice little hut in Le-Metru, a ten-minute walk from the testing track and his job. He saw a see-through ceiling, with several walkways and corridors above him. The walls were see-through. There were two people in white clothing, with an unfamiliar insignia on their shirts. And he was lying on what his mind quickly identified as an operating table. With a needle in his arm.

"Mata Nui!" Matau grabbed the needle, yanking it out of his arm. Blood spurted out of the syringe as Matau, unable to believe what he was seeing, crushed it in his bare hands.

The two doctors instantly scrambled for another needle. Reflexively, Matau rolled sideways, onto the floor, on the other side of the bed. The minute he stood up, the doctors ran at him, both of them trying to jab their needles into his upper arm. Matau backed away, and in doing so, fell over another bed, doing a backflip and dragging it's current inhabitant out.

Onewa landed on his stomach with a startled yelp. He didn't know what was happening, or why this idiot Le-Matoran was currently trapped under him, scrambling to get up, but only making it harder for either one of them to find any stable surfaces. He did notice a doctor moving for his foot, though, and Onewa yanked it back. He rolled off of the Le-Matoran, got to his feet, and blocked the outstretched arm of the third doctor, who had tried to inject him with something.

"What a way to wake up." The Po-Matoran remarked dryly. He slugged the good doctor in the gut, and he crumpled. The Le-Matoran was already clambering to his feet, and he quickly looked around the room. There was one other bed, with a Ta-Matoran zonked out in the middle of it, and a large rack of weapons. Two swords, two pick-axes, and a disk launcher. _What would they have needed those for? _Matau wondered.

There was a cry of shock from the Ta-Matoran as he woke up. To be fair, that was probably what most people would do if they saw four doctors trying to stab an innocent teenager with needles. Matau ran towards the weapons, and grabbed the swords from the rack. The grips fit perfectly in his hands, and the weapons were surprisingly light.

"Hey! Doc! Heads up!" The doctor in question saw Matau running at him with two blades in hand, and promptly screamed and ran from the room. Matau smiled. That smile faded when several new people entered the room. These ones carried weird weapons, and they looked like they meant business.

"Hey! Le-Matoran!" Matau turned to see the Po-Matoran pulling the pick-axes from the rack. "Follow me!" Before Matau could say anything, the Po-Matoran swung one of the axes, shattering the see-through wall.

Matau slowly backed towards the Po-Matoran, keeping his eyes on the bruisers. Luckily, before they attacked him, a Kanoka disk hit one in the jaw. The Ta-Matoran was holding up the disk launcher. Matau mumbled his thanks, and dove after the Po-Matoran. The Ta-Matoran followed suit, and the group dashed off into the corridor.

Stormer gaped. "Why did that happen?" He asked one of the medics.

"An accident, sir, we didn't have enough time to explain what was happening to them." The medic said sheepishly.

Evo massaged his sore jaw. "Well, that's not good. They might cause trouble in the Factory."

"Alright, Alpha Team! Find those kids. Calm them down, and don't hurt them!" Stormer commanded. The entire team nodded, and ran after the three boys.

The entire Factory went into high alarm. Merrik Fortis noticed immediately. "Oh, dear. Three of the Moon-A natives have escaped." He said into a microphone in his office. "Find them, and try to cool them down."

Every single Hero on the line was activated immediately, and several more were racing back to the factory from their homes. The three escapees wouldn't get very far.

In a separate cell, a Ko-Matoran in scholarly clothing woke up with a splitting headache.

"Ow. Ow. Ow." Nuju muttered, putting a hand over his face. Then he flexed his left arm, an involuntary gesture he had picked up after falling on it from half a flight of stairs. Instantly, his arm felt sore at shoulder height, and he looked at his shoulder. A small strip of... something... was plastered to his shoulder, just above the sore spot. Nuju peeled it off, and stared dumbly at his shoulder. There was a single drop of red blood under the centre of the strip. Someone had injected him with something.

Nuju looked around the room. Apparently, he had two other bunkmates. One was a Ga-Matoran, who looked a little younger than him, and was dressed in a teacher's jacket and waterproof slacks. The other was, to Nuju's chagrin, an Onu-Matoran in archive uniform. The jailer in charge of this place was an idiot if he thought that it would be a good idea to put Nuju in here with an Archivist.

As Nuju got his feet, he realized something was a little off. Even with his glasses on, Nuju never saw very well. But now, he could pick out the scratches on the wall, glasses be damned. Nuju carefully removed his glasses, and slid them into a his left jacket pocket.

"Argh, it's freezing in here!" The Onu-Matoran complained. He rolled over and off of his bunk, landing with a thud on the floor. Nuju stifled a laugh. Archivist or no, this Onu-Matoran was as much a prisoner here as he was. "OW!" The boy groaned. He had a slight figure, but Nuju sensed strength in his limbs. Possibly because he had landed on the stone floor and left an indentation of himself on the ground.

"That's new... a Archivist Toa?" Nuju wondered, staring at the fallen boy.

"Aw, great. A Stargazer." The boy slowly stood up, shaking off tiny bits of rock off of his archives uniform, a long piece of cloth that resembled an overcoat. "Look, man, I got pelted with ice pellets last time a group of you guys ran across me in Ta-Metru. I don't need to have that happen again."

"My condolences." Nuju extended a hand.

Instead of taking it, the Onu-Matoran stared right into his eyes. "Wait. That chill is coming from you. How is that... I see frost!" he pointed at Nuju's shoulder. Nuju looked, startled. To his shock, the tiny marble of blood on his arm had turned to a pearl of red ice.

As if it started a chain reaction, Nuju's entire arm was suddenly covered in ice, which began to spread. The Onu-Matoran boy took a step back, and fell flat on his back. Nuju turned back, and his jaw dropped. With a casual step back, the Onu-Matoran's leg had sunk right through the stone floor, which was shattering and turning to small pieces of rock around him. Nuju glanced at the Ga-Matoran, hoping that she hadn't woke up, and wouldn't freak out. To his surprise and dismay, a large cloud of mist was appearing around the sleeping girl.

_This isn't possible. This is Toa power! We're just Matoran!_ Nuju thought. At that moment, he heard an ear-piercing scream, followed by an enormous explosion.

**Stryka: And that's the end of chapter two!**

**Cryo: Wait, wait, wait. What was that explosion?**

**Stryka: You'll find out next chapter, if you don't figure it out before then.**

**Cryo: ... Right. Anyways, please review! Criticism will be greatly appreciated!**

**Stryka: What was that, Cryo?**

**Cryo: Just something I learned in the Factory.**

**Stryka: O... kay?**

**Cryo: Until next time, people!**


	3. Chapter 3

A Tiny Problem

**Stryka: Welcome back to A Tiny Problem! And things are heating up in the Factory as the Toa's powers activate.**

**Cryo: Oh, boy, am I going to enjoy this.**

**Stryka: TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory, but Cryo and I are his OCs.**

Location: Hero Factory, testing plateau

Slowly, Nex got back to his feet. "What just happened?" He asked, still stunned from the blast.

"I think one of the Moon-A natives just exploded!" Surge yelled, running back towards the group. His hair was slightly singed, but the Hero looked alright. Nex walked past him, and stared at the three boys.

The red-haired one was currently standing up, looking at his hands. The other two were both several metres away, knocked away by the force of the explosion. They looked a little worse for wear, seeing that they had been standing so close to the blast. Both had shiny red burns, and were immobile. As Nex watched, they both got to their feet, groaning in pain.

"Okay, let's not do anything rash-" Nex didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. Something connected with his stomach, and sent him flying several metres. He landed, sprawling, at the feet of his teammates.

"Okay, this isn't working." Stormer said. "I think I figured out why Von Nebula wanted these things back at the Factory. They're pure destruction! We need to find a way to take them out before they destroy the entire factory!"

"Right, right." Breez nodded, and moved behind a large pipe, moving to attack.

At the moment, Vakama was still reeling from shock. _What the hell? I just... I just... exploded? How am I still alive?_ He wondered.

"That was awesome!" The Le-Matoran burst out. "How did you do that?"

"I... I don't know." Vakama confessed.

"What were those, Toa powers?" The Po-Matoran asked. "Because normal Matoran don't just explode, dude."

"Normal Matoran don't survive that, either." Vakama said, still surprised.

"Eh, I blocked it. Lucky for me, there was a huge slab of rock close by." The Po-Matoran said. "It still hurt like hell, but..."

"Ugh... wait. They're still after us!" Vakama realized as Breez dashed around the pipe. She ran at Matau, who blocked a few punches before she struck him across the face. Matau stumbled, and grabbed his swords from where they had fallen. This time, Breez was the one who had to avoid the attack, and she backed away. Matau smiled, but the smile faded when the green-haired girl drew a pair of guns, and started firing at him.

"A little help here!" He yelped, blocked the energy blasts with his blades.

Vakama swung his disk launcher from his back, loaded it, and aimed at Breez. A red-haired Hero tackled him before he could fire, and Vakama used his momentum to throw him off. Furno rolled, and got to his feet. He was about to attack when he felt a chill on the back of his neck. Looking behind him, he saw frost creeping up a wall.

"What the hell-" The wall suddenly cracked, hairline fractures scattering along it's surface. Then it shattered, and exploded outwards. Furno put a hand to his face. "Of course. Figures that the other three would wake up NOW of all times." To his surprise, these three were also sporting weapons. Where had they gotten those?

Nuju nodded at the Onu-Matoran, silently thanking him for making the job so much easier. "Hello over there!" He called.

"Hello yourself!" The Po-Matoran yelled, jumping backwards to avoid a large fist from connecting with his stomach. "Whoever you are, you took your sweet time showing up!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't hear you." The Ga-Matoran quipped. She pointed a weapon at the silver-haired Hero, and he was blasted backwards by a high-pressure jet of water. "I can't hear you over the roar of the water." The girl said, grinning from ear to ear.

Matau whistled, amazed. At that moment, he let his guard down, and felt the green Hero's heavy boot collide with his stomach, making him double over in pain. Before Breez could kick him again, she was blasted with another jet of water. This time, though, the Hero was braced for it, and she kept her footing.

Furno got back to his feet, and started shooting at Nuju. The Ice Toa smirked, and froze the fireballs before they reached him. "It's going to take a lot more than that to burn me." He said.

"Nice to know." Furno growled, and he drew his 2.0 blaster from the holster on his back. This time, the blast was a lot stronger, and it shattered the shield Nuju had created. The Ice Toa dove for cover behind a pair of pipes, muttering some along the lines of, "Me and my big mouth."

Vakama suddenly found himself dancing, trying to avoid a storm of fire from the remaining Heroes. One step took him too close to Bulk, who took the opportunity to try and knock him out. The Fire Toa evaded several heavy blows, but then he felt a painful blast of energy land on his back. He fell to the ground, rolling over to try and crush the fire on his back. Bulk almost felt sorry for the boy. The sympathy vanished twenty seconds later, when the black-haired boy charged at him and hit him over the head with a large shovel. Bulk turned, and brought out his metal shooter, blasting a large metal ball at the boy.

Whenua almost ducked to avoid the metal, when something occurred to him. _Wait, I'm a Toa of Earth. A master of tremors. I can block that!_ He straightened up, and lifted his hands, holding the shovels in a cross in front of him. Whenua was promptly sent flying, landing painfully against the pipes Nuju was currently hiding behind. Dimly, he was aware of a bruise forming on his face. He turned, and saw his Ice counterpart carefully removing his glasses.

"You can clean those later!" Whenua barked.

Nuju blinked. "Who's cleaning? I'm just making sure they don't break if I'm punched in the face." He stretched out a hand, and a sheet of ice appeared over the sand. Bulk, who had drawn his 3.0 weapons, had charged right onto the ice sheet, and landed on his back. Furno was smarter, preferring to stay back and shoot at the two Toa.

Onewa, despite his current situation, was currently developing a respect for Nex. The orange-haired Hero was using his 3.0 claw, and his strikes had been absolutely vicious. _At least he's trying to do his job._ Onewa thought. _I can't help but respect a guy who does that._ He parried the claw, swung one of his hooks down, and struck with the other one, hooking around Nex's arm. Nex pulled backwards, trying to get away, but Onewa moved with him, swinging at him with his left hook.

The entire Alpha Team was now engaged in battle. Vakama and Nokama were fighting Stormer and Stringer. Matau was fighting, if you could call it "fighting," Breez, and Rocka was trying desperately to keep up with the two. Onewa was trying to stop Nex from slicing him to ribbons, and Whenua and Nuju were trying to fight off Evo, Bulk, Surge, and Furno at the same time. Merrik Fortis saw this via security camera.

"Those natives are sure putting up a fight!" He chuckled, and scratched his bald head. "That's a lot of talent in there. I wonder..." At this, Fortis tapped on a microphone. "Have the blood samples you've taken been analyzed yet?" He asked.

"Yes sir. We've found the pattern in their blood. We're currently testing it on a prototype Hero."

"Good." Fortis said. "As soon as you get the prototype running, tell me." He turned off the mic, and switched to the loudspeakers. "Okay, teams, stand down. I think Alpha Team has this covered."

Back in the fight:

"Has it covered? Are you kidding?" Surge yelped, running along the top of the pipes. He felt the pipes vibrate under his feet, and the entire pile started rolling. Surge jumped off the pipe at the last second, and landed, sprawling, in the sand. He looked up, and saw shockwaves gather in the black-haired boy's hand. "Oh, shi-"

Whenua casually sent the shockwaves into the ground, creating a small quake. His colleagues kept their balance. Most of the Heroes didn't. Bulk and Surge hit their heads, and were knocked unconscious. Rocka stumbled, and Matau back-flipped, kicking him in the jaw. Rocka's head connected with a metal pipe, and the Hero was knocked out.

"Nice job, Archivist!" Onewa called, waving.

"You know, I might actually enjoy this." Whenua said, grinning.

"Nice to know someone's enjoying themself." Breez commented icily. She pulled both of her 2.0 weapons from the hilts on her back, and charged ran towards Nuju. The Ice Toa casually spread another sheet of ice over the ground, but this time, Breez ran around it. Nuju grimaced, and put up a shield of ice, but a few blasts from Furno destroyed it. Fortunately, Matau came to his rescue, and blocked both blades with his own. A few seconds later, Matau was glad that the Ice Toa was so close, when Furno resumed firing at him. Nuju inhaled, and shot a burst of ice at Furno. The Hero smirked as the chill rolled over him, but the smirk vanished when he realized that the ice had frozen over his left elbow and shoulder, and he couldn't move his arm an inch. He swore, and shifted his gun to the other hand.

A sudden shriek of metal made the remaining fighters blink, and turn for a mere second. The two elites, Stormer and Stringer, and the Toa of Fire and Water were engaged in ferocious combat. Even with his enhanced senses, Furno couldn't track the motion of the blades. It was pretty impressive. The shriek had come from a metal beam that one of Nokama's axes had sliced open. To Furno's shock, he actually saw sweat on Stormer's brow. His leader was actually having difficulties with his opponent! The red-haired boy's posture and expression belied the power in his attacks. Stormer caught one of his outstretched fists, and flipped him over. The boy righted himself in mid-air, and landed on his feet. Stormer turned in time to parry one of the edges of the disk launcher.

"That... that's intense." Onewa admitted. "I mean, from what I know of those two, she's just a flat-chested student teacher and he's just a dorky blacksmith. Who knew that they had that in them?"

Nokama froze mid-step. "What was that, worker?" She asked, her voice sharp as a scythe.

Onewa shrugged. "What? It's true."

Stringer charged at his opponent, but before he could fire, Nokama grabbed his weapon away from him, and hit him over the head with it. There was an audible crunch, and the black-haired Hero sank to the ground, unconscious. Vakama risked a look at the Water Toa, and almost wished he hadn't. Nokama looked absolutely furious.

"Okay, Alpha Team, pull back!" Stormer suddenly yelled. He grabbed Stringer, and dragged him away. The other Heroes followed suit.

"What are they..." Matau wondered.

Nokama walked over to a confused Onewa, and then spin-kicked him in the jaw, sending him sprawling. "Next time you comment on my chest, make sure I don't hear you." She growled.

"Ow! You broke my jaw!" Onewa groaned, massaging his jaw. Nokama actually hadn't broken anything, but it sure felt like it.

Nuju shook his head. "Well, this is just ducky. What's happening now?" He asked. The others looked at him, confused. "Why would they pull back? They were absolutely vicious before this..."

Vakama suddenly tensed up, and took a few steps backwards. "Uh, guys?" He said, sounding nervous.

"We have names, blacksmith." Nuju said casually. Then he saw what Vakama was seeing. "Um... isn't that overkill?" He chuckled nervously.

Four large, floating vehicles were currently hovering towards them, and large devices had been mounted on the front.

Whenua's jaw dropped. "Talk about toppling a building to squash a Fireflier." He said nervously.

"You. Archivist." Whenua vaguely registered that the Ta-Matoran was the one talking to him. "What's your name?"

"Whenua." The Archivist responded.

"Okay, Whenua, could you quit spouting metaphors and do that tremor thing again?" The Ta-Matoran said. "I think I have a plan."

"That tremor thing?" Whenua asked sceptically.

"Oh, boy!" The Le-Matoran quipped. "The blacksmith and the Archivist have something! This is gonna be good!"

"Alright, what's your plan?" Whenua asked.

"Okay, simple." The Ta-Matoran explained. "I'll run towards them. They won't ignore a huge ball of fire. Just before they attack, throw me into the air."

"With what?" Whenua asked, although the answer popped up in his a second later.

"With a blast of earth." The boy responded simply. "Once I'm on top of them, you can run forwards, and destroy them."

"Are you sure this will work, blacksmith?" Whenua asked.

"My name is Vakama. And yes, I think it will work." The blacksmith answered.

"Okay, then." Whenua said. He inhaled, and placed his hands on the ground.

Fortis stared intently at the screen. "What are they planning?" He wondered.

As Fortis watched, the red-haired boy, Vakama, ran forward, gathering a large fireball in his hands. All four hovercrafts turned their sights on him, and prepared to open fire.

The boy in black, Whenua, suddenly slammed a fist into the ground, and a wave of blue energy shot across the ground, throwing up some of the sand, and throwing Vakama into the air. He flipped in the air, and landed on the roof of one of the hovercrafts. As he did so, Whenua charged forward, gathering shockwaves in his hands. The hovercrafts turned to fire at him, but Vakama swung his arms out in an arc, distributing the fireball he held all over the guns. To Fortis' shock, the guns melted. Vakama dove off the top of the hovercraft just as Whenua reached them, and the black-haired boy dove his fist into the ground. Four large spikes rose from the ground, smashing the hovercrafts upwards and flipping them.

Fortis was impressed. "Excellent. Send a retrieval team after them now." He said. "That power... with that power, the Hero Factory could wipe out every evil in the universe without a problem." Fortis tapped on a microphone. "Is the prototype Hero finished?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Put him on the line."

A new face appeared on Merrick Fortis' screen. "You called, sir?"

"Joseph Cryo, Hero Factory 4.0 prototype. Your first mission will be to track down and calm down the Moon A natives."

"Sir, yes sir." Joseph Cryo said. Then the screen shut off.

Fortis leaned back in his chair. "Alright. Let's try this again. I hope those poor teenagers don't hurt themselves." He smiled grimly. "After all, Hero City has a very misleading name."

**Stryka: End of Chapter Three. Nice entrance, Cryo!**

**Cryo: Oh, well, I was just put into production, so...**

**Stryka: So, what are your powers?**

**Cryo: My... powers?**

**Stryka: You know, because you Hero Factory guys have an element in your name?**

**Cryo: That, Stryka, is a secret for next time. That's all for now, folks! Please review.**

**Stryka: And a happy belated Halloween!**


	4. Chapter 4

A Tiny Problem

**Stryka: Hello! And welcome back to A Tiny Problem.**

**Cryo: And it's finally time for me to make my first appearance!**

**Stryka: Aw... what about me?"**

**Cryo: Wait your turn.**

**Stryka: Jerk... TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. Those belong to Lego. Joseph Cryo and I are his OCs.**

Location: Hero Factory Jail Cell

Von Nebula still sat in his cell. It wasn't well guarded, but his Black Hole staff had been taken. This didn't matter that much. Von Nebula shivered as he recalled the words of the dark being.

**Von Nebula, you will join the ranks of my servants, and you will return to your homeworld. Once there, I have a special order for you. With your new powers, you will create a portal within the depths of this "Hero Factory" that you detest. This portal will defy space and time, so don't make a single mistake. Once this portal has been opened, keep it open. The krata I will supply you with will do the ****rest.**

"So I have to get to the depths of Hero Factory, eh? I guess I'll be heading to the failed prototype zone, then." Von Nebula said. Then he stood up in his cell. "Alright, time to get to work." He clapped his hands, and summoned up the dark power he had been given. A portal appeared in his wall, a hole through the matter. Von Nebula stepped through the fold in space, and found himself in the next cell over. Inside, he found a familiar face.

Adolous Witch's jaw dropped. "Von Nebula?" He gasped.

"Good to see you recognize me, Witch. What are you doing here?" Von Nebula asked.

"Haven't you heard? I'm Witchdoctor now."

"Of course." Von Nebula bit back a laugh. "Listen, I'll let you escape this prison, on one condition." He raised a hand, pointing his index finger upwards. "Release the others stuck in this prison."

Witchdoctor looked at him, startled. "But... they took my Quaza skull-"

"I don't care. All you need to do is break locks. Meltdown, Corroder, X-Plode, and Rotor are in here. Release them, and anyone else you find."

"Everyone?" Witchdoctor stuttered.

"I believe I said that. I'll provide cover until you get your weapons back."

"But I can't fight-" At this point, Von Nebula slammed a hand down around Witchdoctor's neck, and pinned him to the wall. As Witchdoctor watched, a strange, worm-like creature appeared from under Von Nebula's shirt.

"This is a krata." Von Nebula said simply. "I have several. The dark one told me that they can control their hosts by latching on to their mouths. Shall we find that out?"

"Wait, no! I'll do it!" Witchdoctor protested.

"Good." The krata crawled back to safety, and Von Nebula released Witchdoctor with a smirk. The former Hero clapped his hands, and a portal appeared below him, dropping him through the floor. Witchdoctor gulped, and then jumped after him.

Furno was currently trying to trail Vakama through the factory. "Is this really necessary?" He called after his target. "Okay, so it's never nice to wake up on an operating table, but you don't have to blow up the entire Factory!"

Vakama cringed. "This from the guy who's still shooting at me!" He yelled. _Secondary power would be nice at this point!_ Vakama thought. In retrospect, maybe splitting the group up so that they could escape in different directions wasn't such a good idea. The Heroes had just split up and followed them.

Vakama rounded another corner, opened a door, and slammed it in Furno's face. The Hero cursed, and took several steps back, and charged at the door. At the last second, Vakama, apparently assuming that Furno had just up and left, opened the door, and Furno ran past him and into the glass wall overlooking the upgrade chamber. The Hero turned, but Vakama was already out the door and down the hallway. Furno pulled his gun, and fired. The 2.0 blaster kickback sent him flying clean through the glass and into the chamber. Vakama was sent sprawling by the blast.

Furno started to stand up, and he found an outstretched hand in front of him. "Need a hand?" A cold voice asked.

Furno looked at him. It was a rookie Hero, fresh off the conveyor-belt. "Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is Joseph Cryo, and I am a Hero Model 4.0." The boy said. His hair was fluorescent white, and his eyes were a light blue. He looked as though he was amused at something.

"I'm William Furno." Furno said. "Alright, we need your help."

"With the Moon-A natives. I know." Cryo said. "Shall we dance?" As he spoke, he drew twin daggers from hilts at his belt.

"Knives? That's it?" Furno asked skeptically. "Not to be rude, but those guys have weapons practically twice that size."

"Good for them." Cryo muttered. Then he walked towards the chamber exit. Furno shook his head, and then followed him.

Matau had finally found a nice hiding place. He had found a weird door in one of the factory areas, and he had jumped down it. Aside from the scrap metal and lack of space, it was okay. That is, until the rest of his new "team" had decided to hide in the exact same place. They were currently all piled on top of him, a mess of elbows and knees and feet.

"Okay... I thought that no one would think of hiding down a garbage shaft. Evidently, I was wrong." Nuju grunted, grabbing his glasses before Onewa's flailing foot crushed them.

"You're on my stomach, Archivist." Onewa growled. "Get off. Now."

"I can't move any more than you can, worker. In case you haven't notice, I'm only the third from the top here." Whenua grimaced.

"Hey! You just elbowed me in the face!" Vakama protested.

"Sorry 'bout that, blacksmith." Came the reply, although Vakama wasn't sure who it was.

"Okay, let's try this again." Matau said, inhaling deeply. This was no easy feat, what with the others on top of him and all, but... "I'm Matau."

"Matau? THE Matau? The idiot racer? Ow! What the Pit?" The worker groaned.

"Nice to meet you, Matau. I'm Nuju." The scholar said.

"Thanks for the kick in the shins, Nuju! I'm Onewa." The worker said.

"And I'm Nokama. And these two are Whenua and Vakama." The teacher said. Somehow, she didn't seem to mind being stuck in this garbage shaft. _Probably because she's on the top of the pile._ Matau thought.

"Great. Now, can I get an explanation for something?" Onewa asked.

"Sure. What?"

"Why the Pit are we Toa? I mean, last time I checked, I was just a statue-maker in Po-Metru. Not a Toa!"

Nuju shrugged. "No idea. To be honest, I didn't think I had it in me. I mean, what Scholar ever became a Toa before?"

"You really don't read much, do you?" Whenua asked. "Plenty of Scholars have become Toa before."

"I read plenty, Archivist." Nuju snapped. "But there's a difference between reading and sticking your head in the dirt to see what died recently."

"That insult needs work." Matau volunteered. He got an elbow to the ribs for his trouble.

"Hey, for what it's worth, I do remember something between now and the last time I was a Matoran." Vakama said. The Fire Toa sounded a little shy. "I woke up underwater at one point. And then someone pulled me out before I could drown. I can't really remember who, though. I just remember grey hair, and dark black clothing."

This remark silenced the entire group. Then Nokama spoke. "I remember the whole underwater thing... but the way I remember it, I actually managed to swim to shore, and then someone hit me over the head with something."

"Good for you, teach. Most of us can't swim." Onewa said.

"Really? Have you no respect?" Whenua asked.

"No, just pointing out something."

Vakama sighed. _Could things get any worse?_ He wondered. Almost on cue, a door beneath them, and the entire group fell down a chute, into a larger room.

"Ow! Mata Nui!" Matau yelped. The group stood up, and looked around them. "Hey, where is this?" Matau asked.

"It's a garbage dump, idiot." Onewa snapped. "Better question is; where do we go from here?"

"Er... I dunno. Why don't we try that door over there?" Whenua asked.

The group crowded around the door, and Onewa pushed it open. The door connected to an emergency escape route. "I guess the people who designed this thing knew that people were going to get caught in this." Matau said. He strolled past the rest of the group, and down the hallway.

Location: Hero Factory Command room

A line opened up on Fortis' channel. "Sir? This is Recon Unit 2. We're returning, and we found a few more Moon-A natives."

"Excellent. Bring them to the Factory as quickly as possible. The more genetics we have, the better upgrades we will be able to make." Fortis said, clapping.

"Er, sir? There's something else. Twelve of the natives we found were unconscious, but the last one... well, he's an odd one."

"As odd as Von Nebula? What does he have to say?"

"He says his name is Nidhiki, and he's a "Dark Hunter," whatever that is. We had to restrain him so that he didn't harm anyone." The Hero was getting nervous. "Could you bring us a transporter when we get to the port?"

"Certainly." Fortis said. Then, he shut off the intercom, and turned back to a camera.

At that moment, the cameras were currently doing a roll-call on the cells. Fortis did a double-take. "What the- where's Von Ness?" He asked, shocked. Then he pressed a button. An alarm started blaring.

As he continued to portal-jump around the factory, Von Nebula realized that an alarm had gone off. So they knew he was free. Not that it mattered. Witchdoctor and the others would cover him, and even if they fell, nothing could stop him.

"Time to open the portal." He said, smirking. "To the depths of the factory I go. I go to open a portal to the depths of madness!" He opened another portal beneath his feet, and dove. _Next stop, Hero Factory core._

**Stryka: And thus Chapter Four draws to a close... and Nidhiki's in this story. Nidhiki.**

**Cryo: What? What's wrong with this Nidhiki person?**

**Stryka: You'll see.**

**Cryo: Okay... my first appearance! Aw, yeah! I looked good.**

**Stryka: Yeah, yeah, you're Mr. Badass, whatever...**

**Cryo: Aw, are you jealous because you haven't appeared yet?**

**Stryka: Shut up.**

**Cryo: If you say so. Anyway! Please review, see you next chapter! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

A Tiny Problem

Author's note:

**Stryka: Snork... what time is it?**

**Nidhiki: Time for me to show up.**

**Stryka: What the hell? Nidhiki?**

**Nidhiki: The one and only. Heh heh.**

**Stryka: Oh, come on! What happened to Cryo?**

**Nidhiki: Oh, him? He's going to get a coffee.**

**Stryka: Aw, dammit. So I have to put up with YOU for now?**

**Nidhiki: Heh, yeah. TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. Toa Stryka and Joseph Cryo are his OCs.**

Location: Spaceport

"Okay, this is Recon Unit 2, we are landing in the spaceport now, please advise." The phrase meant nothing to Nidhiki. He cringed, thinking of how far from home he was. _The Shadowed One said that this job would require me leaving the universe, but I never imagined that there was so much beyond this!_ The Dark Hunter shook his head. _Oh, well, nothing for it now but to keep working._

"Well, here I am." Nidhiki said aloud. He wanted to brush some of his long silver-green hair out of his eyes, bit that was a tad difficult, seeing as his hands were stuck behind him. The Dark Hunter groaned inwardly. He was the freaking Spider, not a petty captive! It was embarrassing to be tied down like this, unable to strike. _Just keep your __cool, and wait for an opportunity. _Nidhiki chided himself.

"Alright, get up."

Nidhiki smirked at his captor. "Yes sir." He said mockingly, and got to his feet. The guard felt the urge to rip Nidhiki's long jacket from his back in scream in his face, but he controlled himself. Nidhiki had a talent for annoying people.

As he walked towards the armoured transport, Nidhiki looked behind him. _These idiots. They're up against thirteen Dark Hunters here. The minute I break free_...

There was a shout, and Nidhiki suddenly was sent sprawling. He turned to his captor, and noted that his captor had been shot.

"Take this!" Nidhiki rolled out of the way as something exploded beside him. "Fear Jetbug!" The speaker was flying along with some sort of jetpack, shooting fireballs at him from some launcher-like device.

The other Dark Hunters came awake with a start. Nidhiki saw Krekka and Lariska among them, a welcome sight. Krekka just snapped the chains around his writs, and casually batted aside a fireball.

"Krekka! Over here!" Nidhiki yelled out.

"Huh? Oh, hi Nidhiki. Where are we?" The white-clad Dark Hunter asked. He was a big, dumb brute, and that's why Nidhiki partnered up with him. Sometimes, dumb muscle was all that was needed. Krekka walked over to him, and snapped Nidhiki's chains. The green-haired Dark Hunter stood to his feet, and shot an energy web at "Jetbug," knocking him out of the air.

"Hey! Hey! Get me outta this thing!" Nidhiki chuckled, and drew one of his weapons, a pair of large scissor-like devices. He snipped Lariska's bonds, and helped her to her feet. "Thanks." Lariska muttered briefly, an annoyed look on her face. She didn't like having to depend on people. Nidhiki knew the feeling.

"Break yourself free next time. Free the rest of the Hunters, will you?" Nidhiki asked. He turned his head, and shot another energy web at another attacker, this time a guy with a jetpack topped with two huge blades.

Rotor evaded the blast, and shot a few blasts of toxin from his weapon at the offenders. "Hey, what gives?" He asked Jetbug, who had just returned to the air. "Witchdoctor said we'd be fighting Heroes! Not these alien bastards!"

"Quit bitching and keep shooting!" Jetbug replied. "There's thirteen of them, and only ten of us. Thin their numbers out!"

Below them, Nitroblast jumped out from cover, and ran at the white-clad alien. The man, Krekka, backhanded Nitroblast, sending him skidding backwards, and jumped forward to avoid Drilldozer, who had popped out from the ground to attack him. To Rotor's shock, Krekka grabbed the rotating drill, shoved it to one side, and dealt a monstrous blow to Drilldozer, who dropped his drill and his gun and staggered backwards. As Nitroblast jumped to his feet, he barely had the time to parry an attack from the Dark Hunter in the green jacket. Meltdown, who had just jumped into the fight, was being attacked by the only girl of the group, who was, to put it in laymen's terms, kicking his ass.

Rotor turned back to the fight as one of the hunters practically defied gravity, jumping all the way up to him. He sent the figure sprawling when he blasted toxins into it. It was probably dead before it hit the ground. But then Rotor felt his limbs seize up, courtesy of one of Nidhiki's energy webs. To his shock, the green alien had finished Nitroblast, who was lying in a corner crying for mommy, and was now attacking Firelord. The former miner seemed surprised that anything could hold it's own against him, much less a non-fireproof alien whose primary methods of attack were a pair of over-sized scissors. Rotor hit the ground with a thud, hoping that Vapour wouldn't rib him for it later.

Drilldozer was in a similar condition. He swung at Krekka, who took a step back, avoiding the blow, and countered with a painful kick. The white-clad alien might have been stupid, but when it came to combat, he was actually quite good at what he did. Drilldozer took another stab with his drill, this time managing to nick Krekka's leg with the drill. The Dark Hunter roared, and slammed a fist down on the back of Drilldozer's head, making the villain stumble forward, cursing.

"Okay, cover my back!" Drilldozer heard the green-haired alien yell. "I'm going for their centre!"

"Okey-dokey, Nidhiki!" Krekka smashed a fist down on Drilldozer, knocking him flat on his face. Lariska noticed her comrades slowly escaping, and gave chase.

The Dark Hunters ran towards the entrance of Hero Factory, shoving civilians out of their way in their rush to attack.

"Uh, guys? What's that shaking?" Matau asked hesitantly. The group paused in the hallway.

"I don't know. Probably nothing serious." Whenua said, putting a hand on the Le-Matoran's shoulder.

"Relax, Matau. You're a bundle of raw nerves right now." Nokama's voice was rather soothing. "Just take a few deep breaths. You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Nokama. Can I have a hug?" Matau asked.

"Free hugs?" Onewa asked, chuckling. "Can I have one?" Nokama raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Suddenly, there was a large crash. A section of the floor caved in beneath the group. "Oh, not agaaaaaain!" Vakama yelped. The group fell down, a few feet, landing on something soft.

"Ow, what the-" Nokama was cut off when she saw what they had landed on. "Mata Nui." She gasped.

"Holy... this place is a junk heap!" Onewa said, shocked.

"That's weird. Why would the junk heap be on such a low level?" Nuju wondered.

A second later he had his answer. "Hero Factory! We! Build! Heroes!" A machine suddenly cackled. It stretched out a metal hand, tipped with sharp claws, reaching for the group. Vakama reacted on impulse, shooting fire at it and reducing it to molten metal in a matter of seconds. However, other machine started moving. The sound of screeching metal, static, and metallic cackles of the defunct machines bled together into a symphony of horror. The new Toa looked at each other, and stood back to back, surrounded by swarms of enemies.

"Sir!" Merrik Fortis jumped an inch in the air. "The original prototype Heroes! They're active!"

"What?" He yelled into the mic. "That's not good. Those things were deactivated for a reason! Alpha Team! Head to the basement level immediately!"

Furno stopped, and turned. "Okay then, new orders. Forget the Moon-A natives, and head for the basement."

Cryo spun one of his knives in his left hand. "Alright. Lead the way, Bill."

"Please don't call me that." Furno said, pulling out his 1.0 gun.

"Sure, Furno." Cryo said, sheathing his knife and unsheathing a medium-sized blade.

Furno walked towards the elevator, and it opened just as he got to it. Surge, Breez, Bulk, Nex, and Evo were waiting in the elevator.

"What took you so long?" Nex asked. "We would have gone down to the basement earlier, but we were looking for you."

"Good to see that you're concerned. Oh, before I forget, this is Joe Cryo. He's a 4.0 Hero." Furno said, hoping to get the explanations out of the way.

Cryo smiled. "Nice to meet all of you." He said, extending a hand. To Furno's chagrin, Breez smiled back, excepting his hand. The remaining Heroes squeezed themselves into the elevator, and it slid down to basement level.

Location: Spaceport

Back at the spaceport, the remaining villains and Dark Hunters had moved into the factory. Only the dead remained. All except for one.

A compartment in one of the Recon transports popped open, and a young girl emerged. She had blue hair, dark skin, and sea-blue eyes, and was dressed in an azure garb. And she looked absolutely amazed.

"Wow. Never seen anything like THAT before." Stryka commented. She breathed in. "When I saw those things, I thought sneaking on board would be a great idea. And look where I am now!"

At that moment, Stryka's toe came into contact with something cold and squishy. The girl looked down, and stared, at the corpse of a Dark Hunter.

It took roughly five seconds for necrophobia to kick in. "EEK!" Stryka shrieked, taking several hurried steps backwards and tripping over another dead body. This only made her scream louder. Wanderlust aside, Stryka was an adamant necrophobe.

"Hey! You!" Stryka froze, noticing a launcher pointed at her head. "Hero Factory city patrol! You're under arrest!" The man said, brandishing the launcher.

"Okay." Stryka said meekly. As long as she was away from the corpses...

The Hero put a hand to his headset. "We've captured what looks to be a Moon-A native, sir. We're bringing her to the Factory. Over."

Location: Hero Factory Dangerous Dispoal Unit (DDU)

"Can't you take a hint? Get off of me!" Matau squirmed, blasting air into the face of one of the machines, which laughed as he tried to escape. Luckily, the machine's arms were severed a second later, and it scuttled away.

"Where are these things coming from?" Vakama yelled, throwing more fire at the machine horde.

"Stopping asking questions! You're distracting me!" Whenua responded, launching a shockwave from his shovels and shaking one of the machines to pieces.

"Hey, someone!" Onewa was apparently being restrained by a large machine with long arms. Nokama took a slash at it, and the machine retreated, shrieking angrily. "Thanks." Onewa mumbled, before crushing one of the machines with a piece of the ceiling. Nokama nodded, and tore apart another machine.

Amidst the chaos, Nuju noticed that, a short ways away from them, an old man in dark clothing was standing, alone and unhampered, on a clear spot on the floor. "Hey! You! Are you okay?" The Ice Toa asked, calling over to the man. He didn't respond.

"Hello?" Vakama also called over. The man didn't move, allowing the Toa behind him to continue struggling. "Could you help us?"

The man suddenly raised his arms in concentration. Vakama blinked, shocked, as the machines all turned away from them, and swarmed towards the old man. The Toa raced over to help him, but they stopped a few feet away.

Just as they reached him, the machines disappeared. They just fell into the floor and vanished. The Toa froze, shocked. "Wha-" Onewa stuttered. The worker seemed honestly stumped. "How is that possible?"

The man shivered, and worm-like creatures appeared from under his shirt. Nokama's gag reflex suddenly acted up. _Krata. Those were krata._ She said, putting a hand over her mouth. The krata reached the ends of the man's outstretched arms and dropped into the floor, vanishing. No, not the floor. When Nokama listened, she could hear ripping metal and the screams of machines.

"Awaken from your long slumber." The dark man ordered. "Awaken by the will of the dark one. He has raised you. He has remembered you. By the will of Makuta, awaken, Tuyet!"

"Makuta?" Whenua asked. "You mean the guardian of Metru Nui? That Makuta?"

"Tuyet... that name sounds familiar..." Nokama trailed off when a hand slid out of the floor. This hand grasped onto a downed machine, and pulled. The dark man chuckled, and reached down, yanking whoever it was out of his... no, HER... prison. Two feet touched the floor, now a solid platform again, and a familiar woman stood in front of the group. A huge sword was slung over her back, and she was dressed in Toa garb. Her blue hair was long and untidy, and she possessed an unearthly beauty, possibly amplified by the fragments of crystal embedded in her bare arms, face, and belly.

Toa Tuyet opened her eyes, mismatched blue and green fires blazing within them, and smiled. "Hello, Nokama." She said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

End of Chapter 5

**Stryka: Okay... what the hell happened?**

**Nidhiki: Are you serious? Did Von Nebula really just release TUYET of all people?**

**Stryka: Er... Tuyet?**

**Nidhiki: Tuyet.**

**Stryka: Explain?**

**Nidhiki: Next chapter.**

**Stryka: Bastard.**

**Cryo: Hey, I'm back. Ah, that's good coffee... who's the spider guy?**

**Nidhiki: No one of importance.**

**Cryo: ... Okay... Oh, it's the end of the chapter already? Thanks for waiting guys!**

**Stryka: Sorry... thanks for reading, people! Please leave a review telling us what you think. Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

A Tiny Problem

Author's note:

**Nidhiki: Welcome back to chapter six!**

**Cryo: You're going to stay in the author's note, aren't you?**

**Nidhiki: Heh, yeah.**

**Stryka: Grr... fine. Just don't even think about doing something stupid.**

**Nidhiki: Yeah, yeah... so Tuyet appeared in the last chapter! Dammit.**

**Tuyet: You sound upset, Nidhiki. What have I ever done to you?**

**Nidhiki: What the- What are you doing here, battery broad?**

**Stryka: Wow... that's new.**

**Tuyet: How cute. You've actually managed to come up with something insulting. I'm so proud of you, Nidhiki!**

**Nidhiki: Oh, son of a-**

**Cryo: TheOneTrueDestiny doesn't own Bionicle or Hero Factory! Toa Stryka and I are his OCs. Calm down, Nidhiki!**

Location: Hero Factory basement.

"Tu-Tuyet?" Nokama stuttered.

Von Nebula looked at the newcomer. "You know these kids?"

Tuyet chuckled. "Know? I practically grew up with Nokama! She was my number one student... until a certain someone found out about my plans." Tuyet shrugged. Her eyes lit up as she continued to visually dissect the Toa in front of her. "Is that Toa energy I sense in you, Nokama? Aw, how adorable."

"Wait, this is Tuyet? Oh, we're screwed!" Onewa yelped.

"And you must be Onewa." The woman smiled, a dangerous grin. "I heard that you were such a sweet little kid." Tuyet waved an arm, and a blast of air knocked the Toa off of their feet. "And that little geek? Vakama, am I correct?"

Matau would have responded, but he had just landed on his face. "Ow!" He yelped.

"How did she do that? Tuyet was a water Toa. She can't use wind!" Nuju asked, putting up a wall of ice.

Von Nebula raised his arm, but Tuyet stepped in front of him and melted the ice with a jet of fire. "You know, scholar, life isn't always about finding answers." Tuyet jeered. "What you don't know can't hurt you. That's a bit of a lie, of course, but..." Tuyet casually waved a hand, and a large blast of ice created a wall in front of the Toa. They saw Tuyet behind the curtain, the gem shards in her skin sparkling in the light.

"That's enough." Von Nebula said, putting a hand on Tuyet's shoulder. "I'm going to retrieve my soldiers, and then we're leaving."

Tuyet looked surprised. "Leaving? Now where would you be going, master of portals?" She chuckled.

"The dark one demanded your presence." Von Nebula explained. The Toa broke through the wall, but they fell into a portal that Von Nebula had placed below them.

"The dark one? You mean the Shadowed One?" Tuyet said, shocked. "The leader of the Dark Hunters? I thought they wanted nothing to do with me, seeing as I messed up their takeover plans so badly."

Von Nebula blinked, shocked, and then shook his head. "No, no. The dark one told me not to use his name lightly. His name is Makuta Teridax."

The Toa chuckled. "The Makuta of Metru Nui? THAT Teridax? I've been gone a long time, haven't I? Last time I checked, he'd had me sealed away because he was afraid of me."

"He didn't tell me why he wanted to see you." Von Nebula explained. "He just said that you were a potential ally, and told me how to free you."

"In that case, old man, I'll accept your offer." Tuyet smiled.

"Wait! Tuyet!" Tuyet looked at Vakama, and flicked a hand. A portal opened up in front of him, and the fire Toa had to jump back to avoid it. Von Nebula looked amazed.

"How... how did..."

"Easy. The shards in my body steal away power. It's soaking up your power like a sponge. Shocking, really." Tuyet said. She smiled at Nokama. "I'll be leaving now, Nokama. Have fun playing hero." Then she lead a flabbergasted Von Nebula into the portal.

"Hey! Wait!" Nokama ordered. She also lunged for the portal. However, at the last second, Vakama grabbed her by the ankle, and stopped Nokama from falling through. The water Toa swore loudly, and waved her arm through the space where the portal had occupied.

"Nokama! Calm down!" Vakama protested.

After a few deep breaths, Nokama stood up. "Sorry. I wanted an answer, Vakama. I wanted an answer ever since Tuyet was arrested." She said.

"What? Sit down, let's hear an explanation."

"Wow, an hour or so and he already thinks he's the leader." Onewa said. Nokama glared at him, and he shut up.

Nokama sat down on top of a motionless machine. "Okay. Tuyet was my friend. My mentor." She examined the back of her hand, as if she hadn't noticed something there before. "So when I heard that she was suspected of murder, I couldn't believe it. Eventually, people found out that Tuyet was behind the killings for some sort of countdown. She was arrested, and she vanished later that night. I never saw her again."

"Okay, sounds about right. To be fair, when I heard that a Toa had killed three different Matoran, I wanted an answer myself." Nuju said, putting a hand on Nokama's shoulder. "Look, we still need to get out of this place. Tuyet being here only complicates matters."

Nokama nodded. "Alright. We can get an explanation later. For now, let's go."

Of course, at that moment, a pair of doors burst open, and Alpha Unit poured out. "Freeze! Hands in the air!" Furno commanded.

"Again?" Matau yelped in exasperation.

The Heroes slowly edged forward, walking towards the Toa with guns raised.

"Who's the new guy?" Nuju asked.

"Joseph Cryo, Hero 4.0 prototype." Cryo responded.

"So... the same thing, just slightly improved." Onewa said, chuckling.

"You call this _slightly?_" Cryo asked. He raised his hands, and a blast of cold air shot across the room. This blast was countered by a burst of flame from Vakama.

"Yeah, I call that _slightly._" The fire Toa responded.

"So that's the plan?" Whenua asked, already charging up a shockwave.

"It always was." Vakama said coolly.

"Dude, go back to tactics school." Onewa quipped, ripping a chunk of the concrete floor off of the ground and whipping it at the Heroes. Surge flip-kicked it down into the ground, and the Heroes opened fire. Nuju and Onewa built up a barrier of ice and rock, but the repeated blasts quickly tore it down. Vakama fired a disk at Furno, but the Hero tilted his head, allowing the disk to pass over his shoulder.

"Good reflexes." Matau said, just before he charged at Breez, swords swinging crazily. Breez parried the strikes, but her smaller weapons didn't have as much attacking advantage. Nokama charged at Surge, evading his attacks until she was close enough to strike. Surge's 2.0 rifle blocked most of the blows, but it was eventually sliced in half. The Hero dropped his useless weapon, but just as he reached for his other tools, Nokama's foot made contact with his jaw, sending him spinning. Breez suddenly ducked under Matau's defences, and headbutted him, stunning the wind Toa. The green Hero smirked, and pushed her enemy backwards. She turned just in time to prevent Nokama's axes from making contact with her skull.

Matau's jaw dropped as a vicious melee-fight started up. The words "Cat fight." were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Luckily, neither girl was in a position to do anything about that. Unluckily, Surge apparently was. Energy bullets started hammering into the air Toa, sending him flying.

"Hey, here's something I want to know." Vakama growled, parrying a strike from Cryo.

"And that is?" the Hero wondered.

"Where are we?" Vakama yelled, slugging Cryo across the face.

"The Hero Factory." Furno suddenly charged at Vakama, his 3.0 weapons out and ready to strike.

"Not very heroic, are you?" The red Toa jumped straight up in the air, landing behind Furno, and shot him in the back. "I mean, holding six innocent Matoran against their will and taking their blood? That's not good, is it?"

"We weren't holding you! You just woke up at a bad time!" Cryo shot a small blast of ice at Vakama.

"Perhaps. Care to explain how this new guy can use Toa powers?" Nuju asked, shooting a larger ice blast to counter Cryo's attack.

"He has your genes in him." Nex explained. Nuju was a cold and vicious opponent. Nex was surprised that a bespectacled, trench-coat wearing nerd could put up such a fight, but it must have helped that he was a "Toa." Whatever that was.

At that moment, a siren went off. Furno froze in his tracks, along with every other Hero. "Oh crap." They all knew that siren. That was a warning that there were enemies breaching Hero Factory.

"What is..." An explosion overhead broke Evo's train of thought. A blue-clad Moon-A native fell through a freshly-made hole, followed by three bulky villains.

Whenua did a double-take. "Dark Hunters!"

Nidhiki turned away from the dazed water Toa. "Great. And I thought that Toa had been all killed off. Krekka? We've found our target. Remember what the Shadowed One told you?"

"Okay, Nidhiki. Hey, pretty girly!" Krekka lumbered towards Breez, large fists swinging.

"Great. Brilliant." Lariska unsheathed her blades. "Killing time again?"

"Killing time again." The Spider agreed, his twin scissors snipping open and shut.

Furno lunged at Krekka, while Surge fired both guns at him. Surprisingly, Krekka just shrugged off the bursts, lumbering forward. He parried Furno's strikes, and kicked him backwards. There was an audible crack as the red Hero hit the wall.

Both Breez and Nokama broke away a second before Lariska attacked them, parrying the female Dark Hunter's blades. However, Lariska had plenty of strength in her arms, and pushed both of them backwards. The Dark Hunter paused for a brief instant, and the girl who had fallen through the hole tackled her, knocking her over.

Krekka was knocked over backwards by the force of Surge, Nex, and Evo's attacks. The bulky Dark Hunter staggered, and a kick from Surge knocked him off balance.

"Somebody get a medic!" Someone yelled, although Vakama wasn't sure who it was.

"Medic?" Nidhiki taunted. "You meant undertaker, right? No problem. That works for me."

Breez blasted Lariska in the midsection, making her double over in pain. Nokama kicked the Dark Hunter in the jaw, and she flipped over onto her back. The new girl conjured a gun, and fired at Lariska, but the Dark Hunter dodged her.

Luckily for Furno, a set of spotlights suddenly blasted down through the hole, illuminating the combatants. The Dark Hunters chose this moment to bail, blasting a large hole through the wall and dashing out. Vakama grimaced. "Follow them!" He yelled, running after the retreating Dark Hunters. The remaining Toa nodded, and dashed off after him.

"Should we follow them?" Cyro asked, both knives still in his hands.

"No." Nex said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They have no way off of this planet. Right now, Furno needs medical attention, and fast."

"Roger." The group turned towards their fallen friend, and carefully lifted him, carrying him out of the basement and to the medical ward.

**Cryo: End of Chapter Six. So, what did you think?**

**Stryka: My name was never mentioned once!**

**Nidhiki: Sucks to be you.**

**Cryo: Thanks for your humble opinion, Spider.**

**Nidhiki: My pleasure.**

**Tuyet: Please review, telling me what you think. This fic needs to be renamed the Tuyet chronicles, no?**

**Nidhiki: HEY! No talking to the viewers!**


	7. Chapter 7

A Tiny Problem

Author's Note:

**Stryka: Welcome back to A Tiny Problem!**

**Cryo: Oh god, please don't be dead, Furno.**

**Stryka: Worried about your new friend?**

**Cryo: Yes! I hope that crack wasn't his spine!**

**Nidhiki: Eh, serves him right.**

**Furno: ...**

**Stryka: TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory! He does own myself and Cryo.**

The outside of the factory was a nightmare, covered in craters and immobile heroes. Nokama looked around, surveying the carnage. "What happened here?" she wondered.

"Dark Hunters happened here. Oh, ew!" The new girl clung to Nuju's arm. The Ice Toa looked at her, confused. "Dead bodies everywhere. Ew ew ew."

"All of these guys were Dark Hunters?" Onewa asked, edging around a still body.

"Guess not. Some of them don't have the Dark Hunter insignia on them. And some of these guys..." Nuju looked around, raking each body with his sharp vision, "some of them are from the Factory."

Matau breathed deeply. "Okay, so which way do we go from here?" he asked.

"To get back? We have to find one of those shuttle-things." the new girl said nervously. "I'll lead you there."

"What's wrong?" Nokama asked her.

"I hate dead things." the girl replied.

"Try not to look at them." Vakama said, trying to sound helpful. The girl managed to grin a bit, but it didn't last. "What's your name?"

"Stryka." the girl responded.

Whenua was at the back of the group, looking behind them every now and then. "What are we going to do about the other Dark Hunters?"

"They probably went to the shuttles as well." Stryka said.

"Sounds about right. Dark Hunters usually leave when they have what they want. But what were they here for in the first place?" Vakama asked.

"Beats me."

Back in the Factory, the remaining Heroes were watching Furno get wheeled off to the infirmary.

"Will he be alright?" Surge asked nervously. He hoped his friend wasn't too badly injured.

The medic looked at the group. "He's not in good condition. We think he might have fractured his spine." he explained.

"Is that bad?" Bulk asked, unsure if he wanted an answer.

"Probably. However, there is some hope. If it's just a couple ribs, corrective microsurgery will fix him in no time." the medic explained, trying to sound confident.

"There is another option." Merrik Fortis appeared from the crowd of repairmen and lower-tier Heroes. The Alpha Unit turned as one to look at him, surprised.

"What's that?" Evo asked.

"The 4.0 upgrades. Or didn't you notice Cryo's injuries have fixed up?" The Heroes turned to look at Cryo. His scratches had already scabbed over. Fortis smiled. "Furno's back should heal in a few hours if he gets the upgrade."

"That is, if it really is his back that's broken." The medic added.

"Okay... so, can he get that upgrade?"

"Sure! We just need his permission." The medic ran off after the immobile Furno.

"Maybe we should get the upgrades as well." Breez mused.

"Good call." Fortis said.

"Mr. Fortis, sir! We've just received notice from a pilot! The ones calling themselves the Dark Hunters have taken over his ship! They're forcing him to fly to Moon-A!" Fortis looked at his radio.

"I guess the upgrades better wait. Come on, guys." Evo motioned for the group to follow him. "Send Furno along as soon as possible!"

Fortis nodded. "Gotcha, Hero." he said.

"Is that the port?" Onewa asked, pointing at a line of ships, all marked with the Hero Factory insignia.

Stryka nodded. "Yup. All those things are shuttles."

As the Toa watched, one of the shuttles suddenly lifted off of the ground. "The Dark Hunters!" Whenua yelled. The group ran towards the shuttle, but it rotated, and flew upwards, out of sight.

"Damn! Wait, there are plenty more. Follow them!" The group piled into another shuttle.

"Can anyone fly this thing?" Nokama asked, looking at the control panel.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, folks!" Matau said, sitting down at the panel.

"Matau's flying?" Onewa asked, realizing what this meant. "It's not too late to get off, is it?"

Matau tested the controls. "I get the general idea, I think. If we're lucky, the controls here shouldn't be too different from the zeppelins back at Metru Nui."

"Just take off before I try to escape this death trap." Onewa snapped.

"As you wish!"

The Alpha Team arrived just in time to see the second ship launch into the air. "Oh, come on! We just missed them!" Surge said angrily.

"Well, we can't let them get away. Somebody go get us a pilot and we'll go after them!" Evo looked around at the other ships.

"Nice piloting, Matau. I'm impressed." Vakama said, looking out the window.

"Hey, I'm not as bad a pilot as the rumours say." Matau said, chuckling. "Pretty cool, eh Nokama?"

Nokama nodded. "Okay, I'll admit that it's kinda cool."

"That's fine and all, but tell me when we're done." Whenua was currently curled up in a miserable ball at the other end of the ship.

"Oh, come on!" Stryka tried to pull the Earth Toa to his feet. "What's wrong with flying?"

"What isn't wrong with it?" Onewa responded. The Stone Toa sat beside Whenua, looking rather queasy.

"Exactly." Whenua agreed.

"Flight-o-phobes." Matau said, laughing.

"Oh, shut up." Whenua snapped.

"Hey, look! I can see stars!" Vakama gasped, spellbound.

"Not helping!" Onewa sounding even more sick.

Stryka sat down in between the two. "It's okay. You can hold my hands if you want." she said, trying to sound helpful.

"Thanks." A hand appeared from Whenua's curled up form.

Nokama looked back and forth among the stars. "Amazing. Do you know where we're going?"

"Just following the blip on the radar. That's the ship with the Dark Hunters on it." Matau said. He sounded very calm.

"Very good, Matau." Vakama said.

Nuju was examining the consoles. "You adapt quickly, Matau." he said, putting a hand on a meter. "This thing is nothing like a speeder or zeppelin."

"Ah, the control scheme is basic. Pull up to go down, pull down to go up, and left and right are the same." Matau said, not looking away from the console. "That's all you really need to know to fly. Landing's different, but I'll figure that out later."

"Good, good." Nuju said, sounding a tad bit nervous.

"Hey, what does "auto-pilot" do?" Matau asked, pulling the lever.

Instantly, the controls locked up. "Auto-pilot engaged," a voice from the control panel said, "destination; Moon-A. Please sit back, and enjoy the ride."

Matau shrugged. "Guess my talents are no longer needed," he said.

"Alright, guys. Sorry to do this so quickly, but I've got another plan." Vakama said quickly.

"Really? Let's hear it." Whenua mumbled, not moving from his spot against the wall.

"Well, we're going to follow the Dark Hunters. If they return to their base, we'll be able to lead the "Heroes" right to them." Vakama said. "That's the basic version, anyway."

"Okay. Let's do that. Tell me again when we've landed." Onewa replied.

"Will do."

The ship continued to slide along, towards Moon-A and the new dangers that awaited.

"Welcome back, Tuyet." Von Nebula froze. Tuyet can somehow opened a portal directly to the dark one's home.

"Makuta Teridax." Tuyet said, smirking. "Nice to be back. Thought you had forgot about me."

"Oh, please." Makuta sounded smug. "Why would I forget about you, Tuyet? That Nui Stone in your body is incredibly useful, for more reasons that one."

"I hope you realize you're going to get what's been coming to you now." Tuyet said. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a wave of fire at Makuta. Von Nebula's jaw dropped. He was about to open a portal, but he didn't need to. Makuta waved a hand, and the flames died instantly.

"What the-" Tuyet froze mid-sentence. Shivers ran along her spine. Von Nebula looked at her, confused.

"Fear, Tuyet. I stopped you. Or did you forget that I am the master of all forty-two krata powers?" Makuta said, sneering. "I didn't survive this long by being weaker than people like you. Now listen. You're going to join my forces. You won't even think of backstabbing me. If you do..." the dark clad being made a slashing motion across his throat, "the consequences will not be pretty."

Tuyet nodded. "Got it. Man, you've gotten creepy since last time I saw you." She muttered.

"Now... Von Nebula, was it?"

"Yes, milord?" Von Nebula stammered as Makuta turned his menacing eyes on him.

"As of today, you are a member of my personal guard." Makuta's voice betrayed a hint of humour. "You are more than welcome to tour Destral, if you wish. And one other thing."

"Yes, milord?" Von Nebula repeated. The being in front of him sounded a little less threatening now.

"If you catch one of the creatures with this insignia..." Makuta waved a hand, and a glowing symbol hovered out of the darkness. No, not a symbol. Von Nebula's eyes narrowed. That was a Quaza core, ripped from the chest of a Hero.

"... bring them to me. Alive."

**Stryka: And the end of Chapter Seven! And Makuta enters the picture.**

**Cryo: Makuta? That's bad, right?**

**Von Nebula: Very.**

**Stryka: How did-**

**Von Nebula: Portals. Thank you all for reading. Tune in next time to see what happens when the two groups eventually reach Aqua Magna.**

**Stryka: Oh, come on, another guest?**

**Von Nebula: See you next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

A Tiny Problem

**Author's Note:**

**Cryo: Welcome back to A Tiny Problem! And what a show we have here tonight!**

**Stryka: Tonight! The return to Aqua Magna!**

**Furno: Oh, ow. My back.**

**Cryo: FURNO! YOU'RE ALIVE!**

**Furno: Er... yeah? I am? What happened?**

**Cryo: Long story, my friend. Long story.**

**Stryka: Hey, where did all the villains go?**

**Furno: I don't really know. They said something about a kitten break.**

**Cryo: Kittens? Aw-**

**Furno: TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. Joseph Cryo and Toa Strkya are his OCs.**

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere, Ship #1

"Preparing to land." The pilot barely choked out the words. The three creatures behind him had made it clear they would kill him if he didn't do as they asked, and the logical part of him assumed that they would kill him away once he landed the ship.

Nidhiki smiled. "Excellent." he said.

"About time, too." Lariska said, annoyed. The female Dark Hunter was leaning against the wall, examining the ship. "This place is starting to make me feel claustrophobic."

The pilot slowly adjusted the ship's orbital path, and slid towards Moon-A's surface. "Er... you might want to be seated for this," he suggested.

The green-haired Dark Hunter smirked. "Trust me, I don't. I'm cramped in places I never thought I had."

"I'm just saying-"

"Saying nothing. Trust me, I'm in a good mood, and if it doesn't change by the time we've landed, I won't kill you."

"Promise?" the pilot stuttered.

Nidhiki grinned, showing off sharp teeth. "What purpose would I have for killing you? You're a dead man either way."

"What?"

Nidhiki decided to ignore the outburst. "So, if what the Shadowed One told us was true, then this," he tossed the package he had stolen from the Factory from one hand into the other, "is going to be worth every drop of sweat."

"It better be." Larsika growled. Krekka snarled in agreement. The large white-haired man looked as if he wanted to tear the entire ship in half.

"Attention. Allied ship closing in fast." the pilot said, almost by instinct.

"What? Seriously?" Nidhiki yelped, whirling on the pilot.

"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't do anything!" the pilot protested.

Krekka looked out the back. "Should I go get them?" he asked.

"What part of "there isn't any air out there" didn't you get, lummox?" Lariska said, turning towards her ally. "Can we fight back?"

"No. This craft isn't equipped with weapons," the pilot said, "and the closest thing we can do to attacking is ram into them, which is bad idea."

"So screw it. Land this thing." Lariska unsheathed one of her blades.

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere, Ship #2

"Hey, there they go!" Nuju pointed.

"Yeah, I saw. Guess the auto-thing decided to follow the ship." Matau said.

"Good. Let's get down there." Vakama said.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Another ship." Matau said, barely looking up from the control panel. "Probably another one from the Factory. Probably want their ships back, at least."

"They can have 'em. We're just getting back home, and then they can have the stupid ship." Whenua groaned. He had managed to get to a stand, and had somehow got himself to the window.

"Funny, I thought you would have wanted to catalogue this thing." Onewa said.

"Hey, I'm not THAT crazy about archiving." Whenua protested.

"Thank Mata Nui, you've seen the light." Nuju quipped.

"Hey!"

"Guys?" Nokama interrupted, breaking up the fight, "I think we're getting close to land. Matau, get ready. Do you know how to land this thing?"

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere, Ship #3

"Have we caught up yet?" Breez asked.

The pilot of the Hero Factory ship, Nex, looked back at her. "Yeah, we have. The good news is that Hero Factory ships don't have weapons, so they can't attack us. The bad news is that the no-weapons-thing also applies to us, so we can't slow them down. We have to actually land this thing."

"And is there a problem with that?" Surge asked, sounding confused.

Evo looked at him. "Yes. Nex is afraid of the landing procedure."

Rocka's jaw dropped. "What? Now you tell us? But you were so confident earlier!"'

Nex nodded. "Confident that I would catch up before I had to land the ship," he said, his usually calm voice now betraying a hint of nervousness, "confident that I wouldn't have to pull through with this."

"Stay cool, Nex." Evo patted his friend on the shoulder.

The orange-haired Hero exhaled. "Yeah, stay cool. Thanks, Evo."

"No problem."

"Hey, guys? I think-"

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere, Ship #1

"We're going in for landing!" the pilot yelled.

Nidhiki whirled. "Huh? Landing? What did you do?"

Lariska scrambled over to a seat. "Does it matter? Sit down!"

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere, Ship #2

"Oh, crap. Uh, guys? You might wanna strap yourselves down... like, now!" Matau was already fumbling with his seatbelt. The other Toa started at him stupidly.

"Grab a seat!" That galvanized everyone into action. They scrambled to find seats, in an attempt to tie themselves down.

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere

Slowly, all three ships began to descend towards the surface of the planet. Gravity began to kick in, and the ships dropped towards a strange island. With a thud almost out of a Looney Toons commercial, they came to rest on the beach of the island.

"Ow... you idiot, you said you'd set us down gently!" Nidhiki complained.

"And you said you didn't want any delays! I was trying to put us down as lightly as possible, given, the circumstances!"

Nidhiki glared at the pilot, and then turned to Krekka. "Open the door, you useless moron!"

Krekka growled at him, and busted the door clean off of its hinges. The three Dark Hunters scuttled out of the ship, and began to run across the island. Nidhiki still clutched the parcel in his right hand, and his scissors were slung over his back.

The Toa and Heroes busted open their ships just in time to see the Dark Hunters dash across the island. "Aw crap, they're getting away!" Whenua yelled, and the Toa took off after the escaping hunters, followed closely by the Heroes.

Vakama rounded another corner just in time to see the three Hunters dive down a hole in the ground. "Follow me!" He dove down the hole after the Hunters.

"He's crazy, right?" Matau asked. "I mean, he doesn't expect us to-"

"Get in there!" Onewa yelled, pushing past the green-haired Toa and jumping down the hole. Matau didn't have time to protest before the rest of his team vanished into the ground. He groaned, and jumped down after the group.

"Milord, there's something approaching Destral from the Great Barrier!" Makuta turned, looking at a panicked Von Nebula. The old man was sweating, as if he had run the whole way to the palace.

"Right on schedule," the dark being said, smirking.

"Shall I go and intercept it, milord?" Von Nebula asked.

"No. There's no need to send any of my valuable pieces." Makuta said. A hand appeared from the darkness, clad in a large, wicked-looking metal glove. "This would be an excellent opportunity to test out those Skadi troops. Send them to the breach."

"Yes, milord." Von Nebula turned and hurried to the Skadi compound.

Vakama landed in the water. Almost immediately, the red-haired Toa began floundering around, attempting to grab onto something. The rest of his team landed around him.

"Agh! What the- it's a trap!" Onewa yelped.

"Water? Where did that come from?" Matau howled.

"Guys! Calm down! This isn't a problem!" A second later, the group found land other their feet. Nokama chuckled, and began to wade in the direction of the land.

"Okay, I owe you one, teach." Onewa grumbled. A second later, a jet of water hit him in the face. Nuju laughed as his friend cursed and swore.

The group had scarely put their feet on dry land when they heard the splashes of the Hero Factory team behind them. "Oh, come on! We don't even get a chance to rest?" Matau groaned.

Stryka put a hand to her face. "Well, nothing to do but keep moving."

"Wait, wait, first we have to make sure those guys don't drown." Vakama interjected. His team stared at him. "What?"

"Save the guys who tried to turn us into lab rats?" Nuju asked, sounding uncertain.

"Exactly."

Matau's jaw dropped. After he managed to close his mouth, he said, "Why?"

"Because drowning is not fun? Because they're right there and we can save them?" Vakama said sarcastically. "Why do you think, Matau?"

"Oh, great. Now he's an idealist. Okay, let's save the murderous madmen." Matau grumbled.

"Save the murderous madmen?" Everyone whirled, just as a group of men appeared from the shadows. Something was off about them, but it wasn't until they were close that Vakama realized what it was. These men were large and bulky, and they all had broad-toothed grins and cold red eyes.

The leader of the new group laughed. "We don't need any saving, Matoran fool."

These men were Skadi.

**Stryka: Argh! Skadi!**

**Cryo: Argh! Drowning!**

**Furno: Argh! I haven't shown up yet!**

**Nidhiki: We're back! Aw, what the Pit? You started the chapter without us?**

**Von Nebula: Typical.**

**Stryka: Mata Nui I HATE Skadi! They're always grinning, and they creep me out! Seriously, find a really notorious Piraka, and he's probably a Skadi!**

**Cryo: Isn't that kinda... racist?**

**Stryka: HAVE YOU SEEN THESE GUYS?**

**Cryo: Er... **

**Furno: Well, that's the end of Chapter Eight. Sorry for the delay, fans. We'll update sooner next time, we promise. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

A Tiny Problem

**Stryka: Welcome back to A Tiny Problem!**

**Cryo: And please give a warm welcome to tonight's guest, Nuju!**

**Nuju: Hello! Hello! Nice to be here!**

**Cryo: Welcome, Toa Nuju. So, how are you going to escape the Skadi menace?**

**Nuju: I don't know. Vakama always seems to have a plan.**

**Cryo: Does that plan involve rescuing us?**

**Nuju: Of course. I mean, Toa are supposed to protect people. You guys are drowning, so we have to save you. That simple enough?**

**Stryka: ...**

**Cryo: Er, Stryka? Why are you making dove-eyes at him?**

**Stryka: Eh?**

**Nuju: Well, moving on! TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory! Toa Stryka and Joseph Cryo are his OCs.**

The Skadi attack team were almost offended. These were the group they were supposed to apprehend? They were just Matoran! Couldn't the Makuta have sent some Rakshi or something to do that job?

There were fourteen of them in total, and only seven Matoran. There were also a group of floundering shapes out near the bay. The Dark Hunters that the attack team were supposed to catch were probably already caught.

The leader of the Skadi was named Norok. His twin brother, Thok, had been a member of the Dark Hunters, until he had run off. Thanks to that, Norok's loyalty had also been put into question. He raised his launcher, gesturing to the ones on the beach. "Anything to say for yourselves?" he asked.

The group looked around at each other, and then they looked out towards the crashing waves. Norok looked up for a fraction of a second.

"Oh, are those your little buddies drowning out there?" he asked. This was followed by a feral chuckle. "Wanna swim out there and save them? Better hurry. I hear that the waters around these parts ain't so safe. Especially if you flounder."

"What... where are we?" The Ta-Matoran asked.

Norok sneered. "Ain't you a stupid one? You landed on Destral, fool."

Matau raised an eyebrow. "Destral? Yeah right. Why would the Makuta hire a bunch of psychotic murderers?"

"Hey, watch it, punk!" one of the Skadi snapped, but the leader silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Not every Skadi is a Piraka, child." he said, sounding almost condescending. "Too bad for you... I suppose we fit into that category real well."

"Figures." Whenua grumbled. He breathed in, and the beginnings of a tremor appeared between his hands.

The Skadi reacted instantly. They drew their weapons, and twelve of them charged forward, holding an assortment of cruel-looking weapons.

Vakama paled, and tossed a small fireball at the first Skadi. The creature batted it aside with the blunt side of his sword, and continued charging. Matau drew his swords just in time to parry a blade that would have removed his head. Nuju also unsheathed his weapons, and nailed a red-haired Skadi with a blast of freezing air. However, the creature seemed relatively unhampered, continuing to tromp forward although his skin had turned bright red.

Nokama turned towards the water, and raised her arm. At first, nothing happened.

In the water, Breez stopped struggling. "Hey, wait. Anyone else feel that?"

Evo looked down. "A current? But how?"

Surge looked behind him. "Uh, guys?"

The Alpha Unit turned just in time to see a huge wave beginning to rise. The wave swept forward with impressive speed, and nailed the Skadi on the shore.

Stryka applauded. "Nice one, Nokama!"

Nokama smiled. "I have my moments."

The Skadi leader immediately staggered to his feet. "They're Toa! How the Pit did they become Toa? I thought Toa were extinct!" he roared.

"You're only catching on now, Norok?" another Skadi snapped. The creature was promptly on its feet, running at Nokama with swords drawn. Just as it was about to strike, however, a bolt of plasma hit the creature's back, and sent it sprawling.

Breez stood up, still holding the offending weapon. "Hero Factory Alpha Unit speaking. You're all under arrest." she said.

"Arrest? Are you nuts, Natalie?" Surge yelled, still half-buried in the sand. "They're freaking Grin Monsters! How would we get them into prison?"

"Grin monsters?" Rocka wondered.

"Thanks, Green!" Nokama called over to Breez. She charged at Norok, who was just about to fire at her, and sliced his launcher open.

"You're welcome, Blue!" Breez responded, opening fire.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Matau crowed. He also charged at a Skadi, parrying both strikes with his blades. The rest of the Toa followed suit.

Nex parried a Skadi axe with his 3.0 claw, and delivered a vicious uppercut to his opponent's oversized jaw. Whenua unbalanced an opponent with the tremor he had been holding on to, and kicked him over. Cryo and Nuju both covered their opponents in sheaths of ice. Nothing worked. These guys would just not fall.

Norok's teeth were grinding in frustration. His opponent, Nokama, never let him get an edge, and she was actually forcing him against the wall. Norok blocked one blade with the back of his arm, to Nokama's surprise, and pushed her backwards. Before Norok could follow through with his attack, though, Breez blasted him with both guns. The energy didn't seem to affect the Skadi, who continued to trudge forward, despite being peppered with blasts.

"What are these guys made of? Titanium?" Surge asked, yelling to be heard over the clang of weapons. He slammed one of his lightning guns under the jawbone of an attacking Skadi, and pulled the trigger. It didn't even slow the creature down.

"Skadi. Really tough skin. Some of them have powers of adaptation, I think." Whenua said, reciting from memory. That was pretty impressive, seeing as he had just taken a massive hook to the skull, and was staggering around dizzy. Before the Skadi could finish him off, it was blasted up into the air by Matau.

One Skadi ducked under Rocka's claw, and tripped him from behind. Luckily for Rocka, he managed to turn that into a backflip, flipping over his attacker and striking him across the back. It left a nasty mark, but not much more. The Skadi leered, and prepared to run Rocka through.

Suddenly, a large explosion split the air. Every combatant froze, and turned towards the noise. A cloud of smoke rose from the middle of the battlefield. When it cleared, the Skadi's jaws dropped.

Stryka stood on top of an immobile Skadi, which was groaning for mommy. To everyone's surprise, Stryka was armed. She held two very familiar weapons in her hand.

"Those are Firelord's lava launchers! How did you get those?" Nex asked, amazed.

"I memorized their structure. My secondary power is the power of duplication." the smaller Toa said. She shifted one launcher in her hand, and aimed it at Norok. "I've had about enough of this. Scram."

It took Norok and his allies roughly five seconds to come to a decision. They all roared insults, and charged at the Toa again. Stryka didn't look so dangerous anymore. "Aw, crap."

Vakama raised his arms, and prepared a large fireball. He looked over his shoulder at his teammates. Nuju was covered in scratches, with a few nasty looking cuts. Matau was bruised and battered, Whenua was semi-conscious, and Onewa was out like a light. Even Nokama and Stryka looked in bad shape. The Heroes weren't much better.

Before either side attacked, however, a massive portal appeared in front of the Skadi. A familiar face emerged from the portal. Von Nebula raised both arms, and the Skadi froze in their tracks.

"Aren't you the brats from the Factory?" The old man asked, his eyes on the Toa.

"Er... yes?" Matau answered before he could stop himself.

"Excellent. And you brought the Alpha Unit as well! I guess it's okay that we let those Dark Hunters pass." Von Nebula said, chuckling. "Take these guests to the garrison, Norok. And don't kill any of them."

"Are you kidding me?" Norok snapped. He fell silent when Von Nebula's purple eyes fixed on him. "Yessir, right away sir," he stuttered. The remaining Skadi moved forward.

"And what if we refuse?" Bulk asked, raising his metal shooter.

A portal appeared in front of him, and Von Nebula's fist connected with his stomach. The silver-haired Hero crumpled.

"Any more questions?" Von Nebula asked, closing the offending portals.

Location: Hero Factory, enhancement chamber

Furno's eyes were shut. But even if he opened them, he would have only seen blackness. He breathed in. _It's okay. It's okay. This is normal._ Furno told himself. He searched around inside himself, searching for the cold feeling Cryo said would be there. He couldn't find it.

No, wait, there was something. But it wasn't cold. Furno blinked. This was different. His body was beginning to heat up rapidly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was strange.

Furno flexed, and his eyes opened. Now his world was full of red, orange, and yellow. Flames danced around him, and a quick visual scan confirmed that he was standing in the middle of an inferno. Fire everywhere.

As Furno watched, disbelieving, the flames began to bond with his body. He felt a strange energy being imbued in his body. Now it was painful. Furno yelled out, but the pain was gone in a flash.

Then his vision cleared. Merrik Fortis and four other scientists stood a few paces back. Furno was about to respond, but he felt a weird heat at his throat. He reached a hand to his neck, and touched something. His hand closed on it, and he pulled back. It felt like putting a hand in pudding. It took Furno a minute to figure out what he was holding. The metal restraints had melted around him.

"How do you feel, Will?" Fortis asked, sounding concerned.

Furno walked over to his boss, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Best I've ever been, boss," he said, grinning. "Now, where are those Dark Hunters?"

End of Chapter 9

**Cryo: Oh, good grief! We're going to jail!**

**Stryka: Was I badass? Was I badass?**

**Nuju: Eh... maybe?**

**Stryka: ZOMGTHANKSTHAT'STHEBESTCOMPLIMENTEVER-**

**Furno: Hey, guys!**

**Nuju: Someone looks sharp.**

**Furno: I know, right?**

**Nuju: Are you going to bust us out?**

**Furno: ASAP, of course.**

**Von Nebula: And wasn't I badass?**

**F, N, S, C: ...**

**Von Nebula: Anyone?**

**Furno: Thanks for reading, see you next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

A Tiny Problem

**Furno: Welcome back to Chapter Ten of A Tiny Problem!**

**Cryo: Great. We get to play escape artist in Destral. Hey, Furno, where are the Toa?**

**Furno: They said they were waiting outside, to greet a few friends.**

**Cryo: Friends?**

**Furno: Something about the eventual cast. Oh, speaking of eventual, we've put in some dividers! This is a temporary change, so please tell us if they help make it easier to read the various sections.**

**Cryo: Oh boy. TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. Toa Stryka and Joseph Cryo are his OCs.**

Location:

Mata Nui, twenty kilos off the coast of Destral

Lariska felt seasick. It didn't help that Krekka took up half the boat. The female Dark Hunter resisted the urge to barf over the side. "Are you SURE the Shadowed One wanted to meet us in Metru Nui?" she asked.

Nidhiki stood at the front of the boat, glaring off into the distance. One hand pushed a lock of green hair out of his eyes. "If you honestly think that I would get on this death trap without an idea where I was going, you can do me a favour and throw yourself overboard," he retorted.

Lariska spat over the side. "I just want to make sure Krekka is still the dumbest person on this ship, nothing personal."

"I'm not dumb!" Krekka protested.

"You're right. You're an idiot."

Krekka snarled, but said nothing. Instead, he looked off into the distance.

"Well, let's hope that this little package was worth it." Nidhiki grumbled, cradling the box to his chest. "I can feel something warm inside. Wonder what it is." One of his hands moved towards the lid.

"Hey! Don't open the box, crosswire!" Lariska roared.

Nidhiki blinked, and looked at her. His green eyes met her red ones, and comprehension flashed over him. H quickly placed the box on the deck, and moved away from it. "Damn, what was that?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Lariska seethed. "You nearly opened the frigging box!"

"Yeah, I knew that. I meant that flash! Jeez, don't tell me you didn't see it. There was a flash under the lid, and I wanted to see what it was." Nidhiki growled.

"Hey, guys? What's that?" Krekka pointed out into the waves. Something was moving towards them with impressive speed.

By the time Nidhiki drew his scissors, the thing was up against the boat. The Dark Hunter carefully lowered the prongs of his weapon, and lifted the unfortunate object up out of the water.

Adolous Witch had never been happier to see a mercenary armed with giant scissors in his life.

Location: Mata Nui, Destral Prison Block, Cell Block B2

Bulk bounced a rock against the wall. "So here I am, locked in a cell. Jeez, when the Factory made me, I didn't think I'd be stuck in the slammer on some alien world." he grumbled.

Surge made a face. "Hey, it could be worse!" he said.

Bulk glared at him. "Remember training? If there is one thing you never say in this sort of situation, it's "It could be worse." Seriously, that's just tempting fate."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Where do you think they locked up the others?" Surge wondered, examining the bars.

"Probably in various other cells scattered throughout the complex." Bulk said, bouncing the rock again.

"And you know that how?" Surge asked, swiping at the bars experimentally. Even with his 2.0 strength, the blue-clad Hero couldn't bend the bars. Seeing how strong their captors were, he wouldn't have been surprised if the cells could survive a full-on tactical nuke.

"Common sense. I was with Stringer and Stormer during the Prototype riots in lower Hero City. If there was one thing I learned, it's that if you arrest a large group of people, you should not put them all in adjacent cells. Hell, I'm lucky you're in this cell at all." Bulk said sagely.

"Wow. You can actually be pretty smart sometimes, Bulk." Surge said, roundhouse-kicking the bars.

Bulk waited until his friend was done jumping around on one foot to reply. "I have my moments," he said modestly.

"Urgh. This is just great. Wonder if those "Toa" guys have busted out yet." Surge muttered.

Location: Destral Prison Block, Cell Block E3

Onewa groaned. "Oh, brother. Are you kidding me, Matau?"

The Toa in question was currently hanging from the ceiling by his ankles. "Not my fault, definitely not my fault." Matau said. Despite the circumstances, he had a massive grin on his face.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you. Well, here's the basics on this cell, if you're interested." Onewa sat down in the middle of the floor. "The walls are indeed stone, but there's a thick layer of metal behind each one. To make matters worse, this metal has a strong electric current in it, to prevent it from being magnetically charged. The bars are also tough, and I think they're made of a few different alloys, with the bottom layer being magnetic to hold all the others in place."

"Seriously?" Matau's eyes widened. The green-haired boy managed to unhook his feet from the ceiling, and landed in some sort of handstand.

"Hey, what's the most visible thing in this cell? It's concrete. My powers work on concrete. I can't tell, but I'm guessing. I mean, I'm a carver, not an architect." Onewa wished he had a pencil. Maybe he could have been able to sketch out the layout of the cell.

"Wow. You would have made a good architect." Matau said. The compliment took Onewa a little by surprise. He hadn't expected Matau, who he suspected wasn't the "details" type, would compliment him for that.

"Thanks, brother." Onewa said. _Well, that was impressive. I've only know him for a few hours, and already I've called this Le-Matoran a brother. Guess that's what happens when you're in the Makuta's prison cells._

Matau walked over to the bars, and pulled at them experimentally. Onewa sighed. "Really? You're going to pull the bars out of the wall? Matau, didn't you hear anything I said?"

"Hey, did someone say Matau?" Onewa froze. A green-haired head appeared in the cell across from theirs, and pushed up against the bars. "Matau! I don't believe it!"

"Lewa? How the Pit did you get here?" Matau asked, overjoyed.

"I got arrested about a week ago." Lewa responded. "What about you? I haven't seen you since Toa Lhikan showed up."

"Oh, that! I'm a Toa now!" Matau said, grinning from ear to ear.

Onewa stood up. Sure enough, there he was. Lewa. Matau's best friend. The only other Le-Matoran who thought that fighting an ashbear on an experimental speeder could possibly be a good idea. Privately, Onewa wondered if the Skadi had set this up as some form of torture.

A second later, another head popped up, and he dropped that idea entirely. "Gali?"

Gali was a Ga-Matoran, a teacher like Nokama. Apparently, Gali had been Nokama's rival of sorts, but Onewa didn't know for what. What he did know was that Gali was a spectacular sight, and quite the kind soul. What she was doing in a prison cell in Destral with one of the most hot-headed Matoran in Metru Nui was anyone's guess.

"Hello, Onewa!" Gali said. As usual, her voice sounded beautiful. Although Onewa hated to admit it, he had been crushing on her for ages. _She was a nice girl! It's not my fault I'm crushing on a Ga-Matoran!_ That was a protest he routinely used at his home. The Po-Matoran workers didn't think too highly about Ga-Matoran, and it was pretty much mutual.

"Hey, Gali. How did you get in here?" he asked.

"Oh, funny story." Gali chuckled. "You see, something's changed. Something big. Just last week, Turaga Duma welcomed in a bunch of guys. Nasty pieces of work, those guys. And I'm not sure, but I think that they might have been Makuta."

"Seriously?" Onewa asked, amazed. "Well, why would they arrest you?"

Lewa answered that one. "Because we visited a Suva Shrine after curfew," he said, sounding cheeky. "Oh, and that's not all. Apparently, this shrine had a bunch of energy trapped in it. It exploded when the Makuta appeared! Like boom!"

Gali nodded. "And when we woke up, we were getting bundled into this big transport. And check this out." She waved a hand, and a ball of mist appeared in front of Onewa's nose. Slowly, it twisted into different shapes, and then dissipated.

Matau started clapping. "Cool!"

"You're a Toa?" Onewa asked.

"Yup. Me, Lewa, Onua, Pohatu, Kopaka, and Tahu." Gali said. "What about you? Why were you arrested?"

"Long story. Are you serious? Tahu the bully and Kopaka the Ice King?" Onewa asked, shocked.

Vakama sat in his own cell, amazed that such a thing was possible. This was a person he never would have expected to call him brother, and yet he was.

A broad-shouldered, lean bear of a young man sat across from him, hunched over. He was smiling, a cocky grin that had practically been his trademark. Back at home, everyone had called him Tahu the bully. With a name like that, it was a big surprise to meet Tahu the Toa."

Tahu nodded at him. "Think of anything yet?" he asked.

Vakama shook his head. "No. These bars heat up a lot, but they don't melt. Not sure, but I think they might be Ta-Matoran craftsmanship."

Tahu chuckled. "Of course. As if these guys would be stupid enough to put two Fire Toa in the same room with metal bars." His smile lost some of its energy.

"Yeah, guess we're stuck for now." Vakama said.

"Guess so." Tahu agreed. "Hey, who are those jokers in the cell across from us?"

Vakama turned. "That guy is Rocka, from the Hero Factory. I'm not sure who the old dude is."

"Rocka, huh? What's the Hero Factory, Rocky?" Tahu called across.

Rocka looked back at him. "It's exactly what it says. We build Heroes, to help protect the galaxy."

Tahu chuckled. "Sounds like fun. How exactly does one "build" a hero?" he asked.

Rocka looked back at him, breathed in, and answered. "Basically, the Factory select all the best genes, all the best traits, and trains the resulting children to protect people." he explained. "I finished my training about two months ago."

"So you're like Toa, only straight from the pod." Tahu nodded. "I see."

Vakama looked at him. He wondered if Tahu had come up with the same analogy that he had for the Factory. _Probably not, _he decided. _Tahu the bully never failed to speak his mind, especially if there was a chance that he could insult someone._

Tahu stood, and examined the bars. "Wonder if I could pull these bars inward," he said. "If I still had my sword, I might be able to cut my way out, but that would require having the damn thing," he grumbled.

Vakama sat down. "Guess we just have to wait. We'll figure out a way out." He wasn't far from the truth.

Location: Aqua Magna, stratosphere

A new Hero Factory transport began to lower through the atmosphere. Inside, five Heroes sat patiently at the control panel.

"Hey, Sophie, you ready for this?" Joss Titan asked. He was one of the two Hero Factory 4.0 prototypes who had just come off the assembly line. His hair was purple, and his armour was grey. His eyes were an intense shade of grey, and he brimmed with energy.

Sophie Cross, the other 4.0 prototype, nodded. "Ready to rumble," she agreed, hefting her chainsword. She was a moderately-sized Hero, and her hair was short yellow. Her armour was yellow, with a pink heart drawn beside the Factory Insignia.

Jimmy Stringer sat at the helm. "Good to hear. Don't worry, rookies. The fun part of the mission is coming right up."

"Now, now, Jim, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Preston Stormer said. Despite this, he was grinning ear to ear. "With great powers come great responsibilities. Are you ready, Furno?"

Furno nodded, and flashed his mentor the thumbs up. "All set, boss. Let's roll!"

End of Chapter 10

**Cryo: Hey! Hey! Security! Look how many people are out there!**

**Stryka: The entire Toa Mata. So that's two sets of Toa. And two new Hero Factory OCs. Don't worry, the cast won't expand much more for a bit.**

**Furno: And the villains never showed up? Ever?**

**Cross: Oh, those guys? Well, we did see those "Dork Hunter" guys with Witchdoctor... but we didn't see Makuta.**

**Titan: Guess we're just lucky!**

**?: Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. Heh heh heh... thanks for reading, loyal viewers. Tune in next time! MWA HA HA!**


	11. Chapter 11

A Tiny Problem

**Stryka: Welcome back to Chapter Eleven of A Tiny Problem!**

**Cross: Those dividers failed completely. Who runs the editing system, Makuta?**

**Cryo: Probably. Say, Sophie, are you gonna get us out of this thing?**

**Cross: Of course! I mean, I can handle those cells no problem.**

**?: Of course you can, dear.**

**Cross: ?**

**Stryka: What! You're-**

**?: TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory. Toa Stryka, Joseph Cryo, Joss Titan, and Sophia Cross are his OCs.**

Location: Dark Hunter base, chambers of the Shadowed One

"We brought the box, sir." Nidhiki said, saluting his superior. As usual, the Shadowed One sat in his chair in the shadows. Aside from his glowing eyes, Nidhiki couldn't see his boss. Of course, Voporak still sat at the side of his master. The brute glared at Nidhiki and company, but said nothing. Aldous Witchdoctor flinched at Voporak's gaze shifted over to him. He managed to squeak out a welcome, and then nervously scrabbled around for a hiding spot. Possibly because he saw the young woman frozen in a tube on the other side of the room.

"Who is the old man with the small head?" the Shadowed One asked, sounding unamused.

"Someone we fished out of the sea of protodermis. The guys who had the box had him locked up." Lariska explained. "Not quite sure how he got here, though."

"I found one of Von Nebula's larger portals, and it dumped me here." Witchdoctor explained. Vaguely, the doctor realized that the name meant nothing to the Hunters, but he didn't bother explaining further.

Voporak let out a gruff laugh. The laugh faded as Nidhiki walked over to the Shadowed One, and handed him the box. A hand tipped with dark yellow claws took the box back to the shadows. The Shadowed One's red eyes raked the box, searching for signs of a breach. Finding none, he opened it, and examined the contents.

"You've done well, Nidhiki." Nidhiki smirked as his boss said that. "The package is secure, and stable to boot. You may go."

The three Dark Hunters were about to leave the room when the Shadowed One spoke again. "Oh, one more thing. Do you want to know what was in this box?"

"Sure!" Krekka said enthusiastically. His fellow Hunters nodded.

The Shadowed One nodded, and then removed the contents of the container, and held it at arm's length.

Witchdoctor's jaw dropped. "Impossible! That's a Quaza power amplifier! But those... I thought they were all destroyed!"

"You know this device?" The Shadowed One smiled, the light of the machine shining on his teeth. "And do you know how to operate it?"

"Of course!" Witchdoctor exclaimed, sounding overjoyed. "I built the prototype! I'm sure I could create more of them easily."

"Good. Make more of them and distribute them to my Hunters. You can work in the lab. It's downstairs and to the left," the Shadowed One ordered.

"Just keep going until you smell sulphur." Nidhiki added.

"Yessir!" With that, Witchdoctor walked out of the room, the amplifier clutched in his hand.

The Shadowed One smirked. "I guess that this means our job is done. Now, we wait. You are all dismissed."

Nidhiki nodded, and walked out of the room, his Hunters following behind them.

Location: Destral, Northern lookout post

Patrolling was a job best left to the Vahki. The machines tromped around constantly, reminding Tuyet a little of the outmoded Krahli of Metru Nui. She chuckled at the thought. Those useless machines would be nothing on her.

"Well, if it isn't the high and mighty Toa Tuyet." A familiar female voice emanated from behind her. "Enjoying the view, I see."

"What do you want, Roohdaka?" Tuyet asked, refusing to turn around.

The Vortixx woman laughed, and walked out of the shadows. "A conversation, that's all. Skadi don't talk about very many interesting things, and I was unable to track down Nebula."

"Sucks for you, then. Don't you have a husband? Oh, yeah, you do. Sidorak, lord of the freakin' swarm." Tuyet said. "Why don't you talk to him?"

Roohdaka laughed. "Oh, Sidorak? He's become rather dull lately. Being cooped up on this island has not done his swarm much good. After all, Visorak that don't eat will die, and there's only so many times you can feed extra Rahi to the swarm before they become bored."

"Then feed them prisoners! Jeez, is every prisoner in the cell block "of use" to the great and powerful Makuta?" Tuyet snapped. She glared down at the Vahki. "Sometimes I think Teridax is just afraid that he doesn't know enough."

Roohdaka burst out laughing. Tuyet whirled. The Vortixx witch was curled up on the ground, laughing hard enough to make her face turn red. "What's so funny?" the Nui Toa asked, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry, it's just that, well," Roohdaka seemed to be having trouble breathing, "I've never met a person stupid enough to assume Makuta Teridax is afraid of anything."

"What?" Tuyet broke off a piece of rock from the turret, and whipped it at the Vortixx. To her shock, Roohdaka backhanded the rock, sending it crashing into a wall. Tuyet blinked, confused. That rock, accelerated by her powers, should have ripped Roohdaka's head clean off!

"You heard me, Tuyet." Roohdaka's voice was still full of laughter, but her blue eyes were dead serious. "I know you aren't stupid, just impatient. But you'll have your piece soon enough. Besides," and here she actually stood up and put a hand on Tuyet's shoulder, "truth be told, I'm getting rather impatient as well."

"Good to see I'm not the only sane woman on this island. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to do some training. Can't let the strength leave my limbs now can I?"

"Valid point." Roohdaka followed her.

Just as they left, however, there was a massive crash. Both women whirled, and looked at the gateway down the road. It had just burst open, and five figures were running down the path.

"Aw, bullshit!" Tuyet yelled, leaping off of the turret. Roohdaka watched as the former Toa fell three storeys, landed on her feet, and charged at the newcomers. Then she chuckled to herself, and walked over to the stairs.

Stormer saw the woman approaching. "I'll take her! You guys get inside and look for the rest of Alpha Unit!" He drew his new weapon, a double-ended saber, and parried Tuyet's first strike just as she reached them.

"Roger!" The remaining Heroes continued to run towards the centre of Destral.

"And you are?" Tuyet asked, pushing Stormer back with the weight of her blade. Stormer was glad that his saber was tough enough to block that enormous slab of a weapon, but Tuyet still had the advantage of size and durability. The Alpha Team's leader angled his blade so that Tuyet hit the ground, and spun, whirling his saber like a batton. Tuyet threw herself forward at the last second, avoiding the spinning blades. She turned, and hit Stormer right at the base of the neck with her outstretched hand. The experienced Hero stumbled forward, and barely managed to parry the neck attack, a spin attack that nearly cut him in half.

"If I were you, I would surrender." Tuyet warned Stormer, putting more pressure on her sword.

"Good thing you're not me then." Stormer responded. He twisted the hilt of his saber, and it split into two swords.

"No kidding. If I were you, I'd be dead." Tuyet moved quickly, despite her large weapon, and struck several times in rapid succession. Stormer parried all these strikes except for the last one. The colossal sword shot past his head, and nicked his cheek. Stormer flinched, and retreated a few paces. This opponent might require some caution.

Up the road, the other Heroes had encountered another enemy. Stringer had barely finished deactivating the attacking Vahki with a wave of sound when a blue ball of energy shot past his nose. The Heroes whirled, and snapped into combat stances.

"That was a warning shot. Next time, I'll hit you." Roohdaka spun her clawed stave in her hands, and pointed it at Stringer.

"Oh, I bet you will!" Titan snapped, lifting a large metal boomerang from behind his back. However, Stringer put a hand out in front of him, and shook his head.

"What have we here? A martyr who wants his teammates to escape?" Roohdaka asked. She giggled. "Fool. I'll deal with you and then finish off your friends."

"Can you see the future?" Stringer asked, removing a small gun from a holster at his side.

"No, but I can predict the outcome of this fight." Roohdaka said patiently.

"Of course you can." Stringer lifted the gun and began firing. Roohdaka laughed, and let the blasts wash over her. They hardly even phased her. Furno and the others took the hint, and ran off towards Destral.

Location: Destral Prison Block, Cell Block E3

Onewa paced across his cell. Matau was still talking to Lewa, and they weren't showing any signs of stopping. "So that's how you got that scar!" Matau crowed with laughter. "Aw, man, that must have been cool!"

"It was! It totally was! Except for the whole "in major pain part," that just sucked." Lewa agreed. "Not as cool as that time with the ashbear, though-"

"Do they always talk this much?" Onewa asked, irritated.

Gali smiled. "It's kinda cute, don't you think?" she asked.

"I suppose." Onewa lied. "I wonder if I could bust out of here before I go insane, though."

Gali looked at him sternly. "Hey, they're kids. Let them have their fun."

"I know that, but-" Onewa stopped midsentence. "Do you hear that?"

Gali turned her head. "Yeah, sounds kinda like... oh Mata Nui, they cannot be serious!"

A group of machines tromped around the corner. Their bodies were thin, and topped with a tube-like device. Their heads were snake-like and had lines running down the sides. Their limbs were thin and clearly artificial. They had the rest of the new Toa gathered between them. By the time they had reached the cell, Onewa was shivering.

_What the hell are Rahkshi doing on Destral?_

**Stryka: And that's the end of the chapter!**

**Cross: Wow. The Visorak AND the Rahkshi? This is starting to get out of hand!**

**Titan: Aw, who cares? We were badass!**

**Cryo: Agreed. Now, if only we could get out of the cells?**

**Stryka: Oh, I can do that. Mwahaha!**

**Roohdaka: Oh, please, you can't do an evil laugh. Go back to training, little minion.**

**Stryka: HEY! YOU LITTLE-**

**Tuyet: Thanks for reading! Sorry for the wait, folks. We'll update faster next time. I can assure you of that. Heh heh heh.**


	12. Chapter 12

A Tiny Problem

**Cryo: Welcome back to A Tiny Problem! And OHMYGOSH RAHSKHI!**

**Lehrak: ...**

**Cryo: Who let that thing in?**

**Titan: Er... I did. I wanted a pet, and I found one! Isn't he a cutie?**

**Cryo: Look at that thing! It's a predator! A monster!**

**Titan: I find that eerily similar to Stryka's Skadi analogy-**

**Lehrak: Hiss...**

**Titan: C'mon, can't I keep it as a pet?**

**Lehrak: BLAARGH!**

**Cryo: Ack! TheOneTrueDestiny does not own Bionicle or Hero Factory! Joseph Cryo, Sophie Cross, Joss Titan, and Toa Stryka are his OCs! Aaaah!**

**Titan: Down boy! Sit! Sit! Ah, crap... you okay, Joe?**

Location: Destral Prison Block, Cell Block E3

The Rahkshi seemed uncharacteristically silent. They didn't hiss, they didn't shriek, they just stood there, expecting the Toa to just walk of their cells and join the ranks without a fuss. Tahu looked at the two Rahkshi flanking him, and frowned. He didn't know how to identify Rahkshi species, but he did know these two were probably the ones with the "shatter" power. Pleasant.

"Hey, Vakama!" Tahu noted that the rest of Vakama's team were covered in scratches and bruises. His team seemed much better by comparison. "Is that Tahu?" the speaker wanted to know.

"Yeah, it's me! Who did you think it was?" Tahu snapped. The speaker, Onewa, glared at him, and he shook his head. _Builders. Why does Mata Nui give Toa powers to builders?_

The Rahkshi hissed, and then began herding the Toa down the hallway.

Makuta Chirox was beginning to get bored. Although Teridax had promised him another payload of Quaza, he hadn't gotten that yet. Chirox was fascinated by this substance. It had a lot of potential to it, and Chirox loved exploiting potential. Maybe he shouldn't have injected his entire sample into one subject, but it had been worth it to see a super-powered spider rip through a bunch of lab rats. Chirox's notes indicated a 20% physical increase, for what it was worth.

The black-haired Makuta jumped down from his lab chair, and dashed across the room to a beaker full of bright liquid. He had managed to melt down a bunch of Quaza, and the liquid was bubbling away nicely. Chirox couldn't wait to hear what his leader was going to do with the Toa he had just acquired. Those could have been the basis for a great experiment.

"What a dump." Chirox cringed, realizing one of Von Nebula's cronies had entered the room. He turned, and looked up at the massive goon. "What is all of this crap?"

"Meltdown, I presume." Chirox said. When Mutran had done the enhancements on these idiots, Meltdown had gotten the ability to control toxins. Chirox knew that because he had been yelling about how awesome it was for the past half-hour. "And this is my workplace. I'm so sorry it offends you."

"What the hell's this?" Meltdown repeated, holding up a vial of clear liquid.

"Energized protodermis. If you break that tube, it'll kill you painfully." Chirox said, turning back to the beaker of Quaza he was holding. He suppressed a chuckle as Meltdown swore, and cringed when the moron practically threw the tube back onto the table.

"Not funny, man!" Meltdown growled, backing away from the table. "Not funny at all!"

"Funny is in the eye of the beholder." Chirox responded. He placed the boiling Quaza back on the heater and put a lid over it. "Do you mind leaving? I'm trying to focus on something."

Meltdown's single eye glared at him. "Why should I? It's a free country, ain't it?"

"No. Destral is under the rule of the Makuta. I am a Makuta, so if I tell you to do something, you do it. Scoot." Chirox said.

Meltdown obliged. Just as the dumb brute opened the door, he yelled something. Chirox whirled, and saw Meltdown go flying back into the room. The cyclops squirmed and writhed as he slid, trying to avoid knocking over any deadly chemicals. Chirox swore, and rushed over to the doorway. Just before it slammed in his face and was melted shut, Chirox saw a red-haired teenager with red armour in the door.

_Another Toa? Good, I bet I can keep this one,_ the Makuta thought, preparing to break down the door.

The Rahkshi all froze in their tracks, and began looking around the hallways. Slowly, the first two edged toward the corridor, staffs at the ready. The entire group were suddenly laser-focused on possible threats. It was an impressive display of predatory might, and it really showed why the Rahkshi were part of Makuta's personal guard.

That is, until Tahu kicked one of the Rahkshi, hard, in the back. The creature sprawled on its face, and the others whirled, hissing. Tahu grabbed up the fallen Rahkshi's staff, and spun it like a baton. The rest of the Toa stared in shock. What was Tahu thinking? Were they about to take on several Rahkshi while unarmed?

... Why not?

Whenua tackled the Rahkshi closest to him, catching it off-guard. Lewa and Matau both kicked a green Rahkshi in the face, but the creature recovered surprisingly quickly. It snarled at the two, but one of its comrades collided with it before it could stab either one with its staff. The one who threw it, Onua, was struggling for the staff of a brown Rahkshi.

"Whose bright idea was this?" Nokama asked, kicking a Rahkshi in the midsection. It didn't hurt the creature, but it did manage to offbalance it.

"Blame Tahu. Every single plan of his goes like this," Kopaka responded. The second Ice Toa had just finished ripping the head section of a white Rahkshi, and was encasing the krata in ice so it couldn't latch on anyone's face.

A golden Rakshi managed to bolt down the hall. Before Vakama could run after it, a different one kicked his legs out from under him, and he fell flat on his back. Out of twenty Rahkshi, the remaining five were actually pretty badass. A black Rahkshi was fighting Onewa, and the creature was doing surprisingly well dodging Onewa's rock attacks, even deflecting a chunk of the wall with its spear. A green Rahkshi, despite being bare-handed, was fighting Nuju, even breaking weapons the Ice Toa had created. Stryka, Gali, and Nokama had encountered a particularly nasty blue Rahkshi, which had broken its staff into two pieces and was using both the fragments as shortswords. Gali ducked under a swipe from the left blade, and pinned the left arm, but the Guhrak yanked free and began to back down the corridor. And finally, a pair of red Rahkshi were fighting Kopaka and Vakama. Both still had their staffs, and were plenty deadly. The rest of the Toa were looking down various corridors, trying to find an armoury so they could run and get their weapons.

The black Rahkshi skewered another rock, and slammed it into Onewa. The Stone Toa staggered, and focused on the rock, attempting to break it before it broke him. The rock shattered, and Onewa ducked under a swing that would have sliced his head clean off. As the Rahkshi followed through, he tried to throw a punch, but the creature stepped back at the last second. It jabbed forward with its staff, and the bladed tips slid into the ground. Onewa attempted to roll out of the way, but the staff had pinned his arm to the ground. Before he could slip free, the Rahkshi's metal foot was on his chest, and the creature was ripping its weapon out of the ground, ready for the finishing strike. Luckily, a large rock slammed into it head on, knocking it off of Onewa and onto the ground. It didn't get up, but there was a nasty, slithery noise as the krata abandoned its host.

"Thanks for the help, brother." Onewa gasped, slightly winded from the weight on his chest.

"No problem," Pohatu said, smiling. Not exactly true, in that he felt as if he had broken four of his toes kicking that rock, but that was a small price for heroics.

The green Rahkshi that was fighting Nuju dove a fist through another layer of ice, and Nuju's ice shield shattered completely. The Ice Toa dove under the next blow, and slid in between the legs of his opponent. The creature, however, had experience with this type of attack, and moved forward before Nuju could off-balance it. Nuju stood back, and created a sheet of ice over the Rahkshi's feet, freezing it in place. Having lost mobility, the Rahkshi resorted to the use of elbows, the blows too short to hit Nuju from where he stood. Nuju saluted it, and then froze the entire body solid.

Kopaka had been trying to employ a similar method on the red Rahkshi, but this one didn't stay still. Every time he launched a blast, the creature always found a way to dodge it. It pinned him up against the wall, and slammed a fist clean through the wall behind him. Kopaka attempted to ball up his freezing energy, to turn the creature into a solid block of ice, but it yanked back a few seconds before he could do so. At that moment, Nuju decided to come to his aid, throwing a freezing bolt at the thing's head and disorienting it.

Vakama grabbed on to the staff of the other red Rahkshi. Big mistake. The Rahkshi emitted a screech, and sent the Fire Toa sprawling with a push. As Vakama sprawled on his back, the Rahkshi hefted its staff, and prepared to make itself a Toa-kabob.

"Hey! What's going on over here?" The Rahkshi froze in midmotion, and stepped back from Vakama. The other Toa turned, and looked down the hallway.

A harried-looking man in a black lab coat was running down the hallway, yelling at the Rahkshi. "What's wrong with you? When I told you to take them to the Makuta, I meant in one piece!"

The Rahkshi that hadn't been disabled stepped back to the walls. The assorted Toa slowly grouped together. "Hey, aren't you-" Whenua began to ask.

"Makuta Chirox. I'm the Makuta in charge of Destral at the moment, seeing as the others are out," Chirox said, smoothing his lab coat. "I'm so sorry for the barbarian-style welcome. We haven't been employing Skadi for very long, so..." he trailed off, waving his hands enigmatically.

"Oh... kay?" No one knew what to say. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

Eventually, Chirox broke the silence. "Oh, I almost forgot! You see, there are these people showing up on the island. Aliens. People from beyond the stars. They're causing havoc in the prison blocks at the moment, and I'm worried they'll cause a prison break. Would you mind helping me with that?"

The group looked at each other. "Well, should we?" Stryka asked.

"It's probably no big deal, but we have a bunch of very powerful criminals locked up in those cells," Chirox said.

Vakama shrugged. "Okay, let's do that. But after that, could we get an explanation for what's going on?"

The Makuta nodded. "Certainly. Now let's get cracking!"

Location: Cell Block R4

Elsewhere, Furno had just came across Titan, who was trying to pry open a door. "Did you find anyone?" he asked.

Titan shook his head. "Nope. Sorry, man. I think someone might be behind this door, but I can't get it open."

"Have you tried your powers?" Furno prompted.

"Tried and failed. I think the doors are already magnetized." Titan took a few steps back, hefted his boomerang, and threw it at the door. The weapon bounced off with a clang, and clattered to the ground. Titan swore.

"Wow. That's one sturdy door. Let me try." Furno walked up to Titan, braced himself, and shot a fireball at the door. The metal didn't melt, but it did bend ever so slightly.

"All right!" Titan exclaimed, preparing to throw his weapon again. "Let's bust this bad boy down!"

"You'll do no such thing." Both Heroes whirled in time to see Von Nebula appear in the doorway. He was accompanied by a red-clad figure, who had a wrist blade and strange, clawed feet. Titan threw his weapon, but the red figure blocked it with his blade.

Von Nebula let out a humorous chuckle. "Miss me, Furno?"

Furno drew his own weapon, a modified version of his 1.0 blaster. "Not really. How'd you get here, Nebula?"

"It's a long story. One you won't survive long enough to listen to." Nebula drawled. "Prepare to die, William Furno!"

**Titan: End of the Chapter! Tune in next time for my first fight scene!**

**Cryo: Owww...**

**Stryka: What's that smell OHMYMATANUI RAHKSHI!**

**Titan: Oh, Stryka! That's my new pet, Leroy.**

**Lehrak: ...**

**Stryka: I've had enough Rahkshi for one day! Put it outside!**

**Lehrak: Hiss!**

**Stryka: Oh, yuck! Hate those things. Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next time!**


End file.
